October is Islamic Heritage Month. While we work year-round to create environments that celebrate and affirm the many diverse identities represented in our schools, this month gives us an opportunity to intentionally deepen our learning and understanding and demonstrate our ongoing commitment to supporting Islamic Heritage Month events throughout the region.
Some of our schools will once again be attending an Islamic Heritage Month Exhibition next week for a half-day of learning about Islamic contributions to Canadian heritage and global society.
The Islamic Heritage Month exhibit offers a learning opportunity for students to deepen their understanding of diverse identities and lived experiences of local community members. By learning about the contributions of Muslims to our society, we aim to broaden students’ cultural and historical perspectives through engaging exhibits and activities.
We have received some enquiries about the trip and wish to provide additional information. All field trips are considered and approved in accordance with the YRDSB field trip policy as well as Ministry of Education expectations. This trip will include specific curriculum connections for the classes attending. As part of the exhibit event, there will be interactive exhibits for students to engage with that connect to the Ontario Curriculum across several grades. In response to specific questions we have received and online posts, we wish to clarify that there will be no religious instruction or praying as part of the program.
Sadly, we have seen some comments of Islamophobia related to this exhibit, as well as online comments that are both antisemitic and Islamophobic. Any incident of hate is unacceptable. We will continue to reinforce the use of Protocol for Addressing Incidents of Hate and/or Discrimination. You may use the Report It tool to report any incidents. We remain committed to continuing to create learning and working environments that affirm all identities and are safe and welcoming for all.
It is essential that we continue our work to create learning environments that value inclusivity and respect for students of all identities.