Education Minister Becky Druhan visited the Dr. John C. Wickwire Academy in Liverpool to join them for their celebrations of Black Excellence Day.
Today marked the first time schools observed the newly created Black Excellence Day, with it now set to be an annual tradition.
“What it’s about is celebrating excellence in black students, black educators and taking the opportunity to teach students about those things,” Druhan said.
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Students at Dr. John C. Wickwire Academy reading Change Sings, a book by US poet Amanda Gorman. Photo: Evan Taylor
At Wickwire Academy, students did a reader theater presentation where students acted out a story that explained the history of Africville.
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Students at Dr. John C. Wickwire Academy doing a presentation on Africville for Black Excellence Day. Photo: Evan Taylor
Students then listened to a reading of Change Sings, a book written by Amanda Gorman who is best known as the youngest ever US poet laureate for her poem The Hill we Climb which was read during President Joe Biden’s inauguration.
That book is part of the new Diversity Collection Library, which also launched on Black Excellence Day. The program will see a selection of new books designed for students K-3 added to the collection that is shared between elementary schools across the province.