Stay strong.
As the school week has come to an end, and we have heard back from Student Trustees, it has been reported and become clear that the Board is firm on their position and will not amend their decision.
As this has been frustrating and discouraging to hear for many, I recognize and acknowledge that sentiment deeply. Even as teachers and staff have put together resources and additional support groups for their students, the change will still take a major blow on their mental health and academic well-being, as they have clearly expressed verbally over the last few days in effort to present the board with student perspective.
Let's not forget that the Board has blatantly refused to listen to student voices on multiple occasions, and has remained silent as we have tried to speak out and exercise our right, as students, to have a say in the education we are receiving and benefiting from. Let's not forget the Board's refusal to make accommodations in June of this year regarding the Modified Semester Model, despite the 5000+ signatures that the petition against that case garnered over a span of days. Let's not forget the struggle we faced with memory retention and communication with teachers with this new model these past couple months. And let's remember this eventful week and the fear that came with it, following the Board's unprofessional decision to give us one week's notice, during an ongoing semester, of such a drastic shift after Stephen Lecce himself announced that school boards would be able to make this change for Semester 2, and have it remind us to be even stronger activists the next time that the Board fails to consider student voice. We have the right to speak out on the issues that serve as an impediment to our learning and our future success; simply using it as we have this past year has made us all more aware of the weaknesses and lacking areas in the Board's system, and their communication with us. As HDSB decides on the execution of these plans internally within a tight group, without bringing in more student representatives into that space, this only continues to leave us out of power. There should be more student voice brought into the higher powers, so that we can ensure that HDSB's plans and visions not only benefit the employed teachers & staff, but also, and most importantly, the students they work to serve as a result.
As I am a Grade 12 student set to graduate in June, I will be no longer be a student in HDSB after this school year--so I would like to encourage students in Grade 11 to make sure they are educated regarding the Board and how they settle decisions, so that they can become the new activists of the Grade 12 cohort the next school year as senior students, and work harder to make sure their thoughts are considered when other issues arise in the future, and carry on that spirit of fighting for what's best for the student party.
Remember that we need to keep up hope to continue fighting when the time comes to do so for different causes. That is what will fuel us towards reaching that ultimate goal, and will give us a sense of satisfaction and productivity, even if we end up losing the fight at the end of the day and aren't listened to. Don't render yourselves too demoralized.
On that note, I would like to wish students & parents a wonderful long weekend, hoping that it gives everyone the time and opportunity to take some time for yourselves so that you feel rested and ready to tackle the 4-course schedule by Monday.
Thanks for all the support, regardless of how this ended.
Lara