Surrey Schools creates Equity, Diversity & Belonging Calendar for 2023-24 school year
Surrey Schools is highlighting holidays and acknowledging observances in the district’s new Equity, Diversity & Belonging Calendar, providing students, staff and parents an opportunity to learn about various cultural celebrations while encouraging a sense of belonging in schools.
One of the first steps in the district’s five-year Racial Equity Strategic Plan, the calendar is a collaborative effort with input from teachers, principals and vice-principals, support staff, helping teachers and many different stakeholders across the district. The calendar follows suit of other school districts in developing a catalog of important dates to recognize in our school communities throughout the year.
“This calendar really provides our education partners an opportunity to join in on more of a cohesive way of celebrating all the different cultural events and celebrations that happen in Surrey and White Rock,” said JB Mahli, Director of the Racial Equity department. “This is a great start for us and we hope to encompass many events from a variety of different cultural backgrounds.”
The calendar features such cultural and religious celebrations as Vaisakhi, Diwali, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, as well as monthlong observances like National Indigenous History Month, Black History Month, Sikh Heritage Month and Pride Month. Additionally, it includes numerous provincial and federal days of significance, and common annual school student and staff celebrations such as Valentine’s Day, Halloween, Administrative Professionals Day and Principal and Vice-Principal Appreciation Day.
“Some of the dates on there are more loosely tied to belonging – they’ve been traditional days that have been celebrated in our schools,” said Mahli. “Some newcomers to Canada have never experienced Halloween, and it’s a unique experience for us as a school community to celebrate who we are and what we’ve done in the past.”
Though it’s impossible to include every tradition and festivity on the calendar, Mahli said staff will continue to refine it in the coming years to ensure it remains reflective of school communities in Surrey and White Rock.
“This is a starting point for us as a district to really recognize a variety of cultures and backgrounds,” he said. “We want students and families to know that they belong here in our district. They’re celebrated here and we are eager to learn more about them.”
To see the Equity, Diversity & Belonging Calendar, click here.
