Anglophone East School District marks fourth annual Indigenous Grad Celebration

24 students walked the stage at the Indigenous graduation celebration in NB’s Anglophone East School District.

It was a significant day within the Anglophone East School District as 24 students from high schools in the area walked the stage for the fourth annual Indigenous Grad Celebration.

“We’ve helped support them grow as people and as individuals and when we go to the high school graduations they’re dressing in regalia as they walk across the stage and very proud of who they are as individuals, who they are as people, who they are as citizens of their community and citizens of the world,” said superintendent and CEO Randolph MacLEAN.

As part of the district’s call to action for Truth and Reconciliation, MacLEAN says work is being done to make sure the district is both “academically responsive and culturally responsive to indigenous students.”

This includes cultural support workers in schools and an Indigenous Education Team to ensure daily education and support throughout a student’s entire educational journey.

“I see it here today, but I see it in classrooms,” he said.

“I see it in classrooms as we do cultural events and students are wearing ribbon skirts or in our peace and friendship spaces in schools and students are proud of their cultural identities and we support them. We see it in our classrooms as we intertwine our Indigenous learnings with the way we teach.”

He says the first year had just two students take part in the culturally responsive graduation celebration.

The Legend Catering room at the Moncton Coliseum was packed full of students, their families, school officials and Indigenous spiritual leaders.

Ceremonial Elder Donna Augustine says this event is important because students are being honoured in a traditional way with an opening song, prayer and honour song.

“In the schools, the regular school system, they’ve learned academically, but in our way, it’s just as important or even more important to know your roots, your heritage, who you are,” she said.

Augustine is the Elder in Residence for the AESD and goes to various schools to share culture with students throughout their time at school.

“We don’t want our youth to go out there in the world and hold their heads down, we want them to go out there and be proud of their heritage and who they are,” she said.

“When they walk out into this world, they’re armed with their culture, their base, their root is that strong culture so as they go out into the world, they’re going to excel at everything they do and so we encourage them all along the way.”

MacLEAN says the district will continue to grow and foster this program and way of teaching in the future, bringing together education and culture in a significant way.

Students will also attend their school graduation ceremonies to celebrate their accomplishments as they say goodbye to high school.

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