Indigenous Students’ Grade 9 Transition Ceremony

Jun. 20, 2019


​This spring, the Indigenous Education Team invited all Indigenous students in Grade 9 to participate in a traditional ceremony to celebrate and honour their transition to high school. Students were invited to include a significant adult in their lives. Indigenous knowledges and protocols acknowledge the child to young adulthood phase as an important time. These ceremonies are one way the CBE supports Indigenous students in making transitions by valuing the role ceremony plays in Indigenous ways of knowing. Each of these ceremonies was led by a local Elder and/or knowledge keeper. Feeder schools and welcoming high schools were on hand to greet and connect with incoming Grade 9 students and their families. These opportunities are grounded in advancing the CBE Indigenous Education Strategy and the Teaching/Leadership Quality Standards for the participating staff.