09/30/2026
This morning, in recognition of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada, and Orange Shirt Day, the entire school gathered together wearing orange shirts and ribbons. Junior School students opened by sharing the School’s land acknowledgment, with Head of TCS Stuart Grainger reaffirming TCS’s commitment to active reconciliation in our classrooms and broader community.
The gathering welcomed special guest Bishop Riscylla Shaw, who serves as a bishop suffragan in the Diocese of Toronto, who spoke about the Seven Grandfather Teachings. Junior School students shared the history behind Orange Shirt Day, and students and staff viewed a video featuring Residential School Survivor Chief Robert Joseph, who speaks about his own history as a Survivor and the importance of Truth and Reconciliation. The presentation concluded with leaders of the Senior School Indigenous Students Affinity Group (ISAG) sharing their learnings and highlighting the significant role of stories and storytelling in Indigenous communities – and what we all can learn from these lessons.
Following this, all Senior School students met in small groups to discuss what they heard and learned from today’s presentation, and the Junior School took part in an afternoon of reflection, conversation and creating reciprocity bouquets to honour the day.
Thank you to student presenters Ben, Jack, Adam, Yusuf, Ella, and Paige, and the TCS Truth and Reconciliation Committee for creating a meaningful opportunity for our community to gather and commemorate the children who never returned home and the Survivors of our country’s Residential School System, their families and communities.
To learn more, please explore these resources:
https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/national-day-truth-reconciliation.html
https://www.orangeshirtday.org/
https://nctr.ca/about/truth-and-reconciliation-commission-of-canada-calls-to-action/
