And so Black Excellence is wondrous and spirit-filling and cannot be confined to the month of February or solely to certain “notable” individuals. It exists in the everyday and it lives and shines in individuals throughout our community. 

As a board, we demonstrate our commitment and leadership in the area of equity by actively engaging in the work of inclusion, affirming Black identities, and honouring Black students, staff, families/caregivers, and community members in a celebration of Black Excellence." 

Submitted by Rheba Moore-Nash, System Principal of Equity & Inclusive Education

The Grade 9 band at Lord Dorchester SS rehearsed music by William Owens, a Black composer, conductor, clinician and educator, to celebrate Black excellence and Black History Month!

Submitted by James Callowhill, grade 9 band director  

 "The Staffing Department had a meeting at One World in which we acknowledged, recognized and celebrated the abundance of Black excellence within the TVDSB. We furthered our conversations on how to reduce systemic barriers within our processes and spoke about what we can do to further hiring and promotion of Black leaders to best support and create comfort in all TVDSB spaces in an anti-oppressive and anti-racist manner. We have all made a commitment to further educating ourselves in February and forever, and were grateful for the time we spent connecting with one another and celebrating Blackness."

Submitted by the Thames Valley District School Board Staffing Department

"Our Board display was centred on Black History Month in February to honour Black excellence. We decided to showcase a quilt design to highlight how enslaved peoples used them as a means of communication to help facilitate their freedom. They worked with the limited tools they had, embedding secret codes into quilts to send messages about travel plans to the north, specific directions, and locations that would offer refuge. They designed quilts with specific blocks for communication. For our paper quilt, we used three blocks: The first central block was the "north star" to indicate how the big dipper should be followed to the north. The second block was "flying geese" to direct other enslaved peoples to shelter, safety, water, or a specific path. The third block was a "log cabin" to indicate safe houses, where allies would help and hide enslaved peoples along their journey. 
Students from grades 6 and 7 helped create the quilt using diverse colours and shapes to show how diversity creates something beautiful, much like how the embracing of human diversity is a beautiful thing. They helped cut out the patches and coloured the images of the diverse people to act as a frame. Finally, at the centre of the quilt is a quote from Ola Joseph that celebrates how diversity is about embracing uniqueness: “Diversity is not about how we differ. Diversity is about embracing one another's uniqueness.” Our Librarian will also read The Patchwork Path: A Quilt Map to Freedom to all the students on Friday’s read-aloud and connect the book back to the board display."

Submitted by Mazna Kamal, Elementary ESL/ELD Support Teacher at Ashley Oaks PS

"A group of grade 8 students wanted to share their pride and excitement through a Black History Month bulletin board."

Submitted by Holly Powell, Principal at Springbank Public School

"A Whole Month

A whole month

For people who didn’t have the right to education

The right to use public facilities

The right to vote

The right to a career

A whole month

For the people who didn’t have the right to a free life

February still passes by

But their history is still in our hearts

February still passes by

But the stories are still told to the young

February still passes by

But their way of fighting will always be remembered

Those people
who fought for freedom

Some died on the way

But some survived

Those people

Were and still are

African American"

Submitted by Takshi Swapnil, grade 5 student at Sir Arthur Currie Public School

"20 of our 7 & 8 students came together to discuss how to stop racism. They have created this video with our Teacher Librarian Ms. Stanton. They all know that our work has just begun."

Submitted by Holly Powell, Principal at Springbank Public School

I’ve been with TVDSB for 15 years and worked in various secretarial capacities. In my present role as an Executive Assistant for the Communications and Legal departments, I am proud to be the first Black person ever to hold an Executive Assistant position at Thames Valley.

I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in Crime and Deviance from the University of Toronto, Office Administration certificate from Fanshawe College, and currently finishing up a Legal Assistant certificate at Seneca College.

I am a first generation Canadian of Caribbean parentage and a proud mother of three kids who is passionate about volunteering with local organizations to support Black youth in our community.

Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to listen to many Black students share their own lived experiences within Thames Valley schools.

It saddens me that they are still experiencing many of the same barriers I did when I was a child.

I believe that equity and anti-racism work is an important endeavor for our school communities. When students see themselves reflected in the curriculum and have educators with similar lived experiences it has a positive effect on student engagement and achievement.

Educators need to be culturally responsive when racialized and/or marginalized students enter their classrooms. There must be an awareness that many students have stories and lived experiences that should be tapped into and explored as part of their education. Having an anti-racist lens also allows students to be supported and affirmed.

As a community, we should all take the time to check our own biases and disrupt the practices in order to help racialized and marginalized students succeed and soar in their educational path.

I am an employee of the Faculty of Education at Western University, where I am an associate dean and an associate professor. I have been a University Teaching Fellow researching the integration of technologies and hands-on activities in teaching. I am originally a secondary school teacher by profession who enjoyed teaching. My research and teaching at the university has focused on mathematics and other integrated science and technology areas. During the pandemic, this work introduced me to thinking more about teaching in ways that show both deep care for the content and care for the learners, pedagogies of care. While working at Western, I have served on numerous committees as well as volunteering in schools and in the community. I have also visited elementary schools in the role of a human library, who alongside others visits and answers questions, showcasing African cultures. In addition, I have served on a leadership board of a community organization, African Canadian Federation of London and Area, ACFOLA and have volunteered with a free tutoring program based at LUSO Community Services.

I am a mother of 3 school-aged children. Outside my family life, I am most proud of my teaching, research and volunteer work; the latter has taken me to many classrooms where I have enjoyed interacting with students of all ages and their teachers. Because of my interest in individuals and groups of people living on the margins of society, who often find learning in schools and post-secondary institutions less accessible, I am currently part of three Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion projects at Western, and in collaboration with Ontario Tech University.

As a person who emigrated to Canada when I was already an adult, and who is now raising 3 children in Ontario, I am so thankful for the anti-racism/equity work being offered within our school communities. I highly respect teachers, colleagues, authors, leaders, consultants, students and professionals in schools and other educational contexts who have been doing this important work for many years, especially when it was extremely difficult. This work needs to continue to be done, by both those in power who are allies to those on the margins and those who do this work in search of equitable practices in all sectors of society.

I have had the pleasure to have worked for the Thames Valley District School Board for the past 20 years. My current role is Vice-Principal at Eagle Heights Public School. I am from Afro-Caribbean descent and have a passion for anti-racism and equity work. I am most proud of the partnerships that I have built with fellow educators, community members and our parent community in advocating for our students and to ensure that our students have the best possible environment to thrive in.

The commitment to anti-racism and equity work within our school communities is of the utmost importance. Fostering a safe and inclusive school environment where everyone feels welcomed, represented, and has a voice is essential in creating an inclusive school culture; a school culture where all students and staff are positioned to experience success, learn, and thrive. Inclusiveness in education and the pursuit of lifelong learning are fundamental commitments that we must all strive for. Our Diversity is one of our greatest strengths

A quote that has grounded me through the ups and downs of these past few years is this: Good things usually don’t come easy so lean into the tough times and show up for yourself.  Because in ten or twenty years, you’ll be grateful you did."

“Miranda Ayim has been representing Canada since she was a junior, helping Canada to a silver medal at the 2006 U-19 FIBA World Championship qualifying tournament. During the summer of 2007, she played in both the U-19 and U-21 FIBA World Championships. Ayim was named to the senior national team in 2008 and helped Canada qualify for London 2012, putting the women’s team in the Olympic tournament for the first time since 2000. She made her debut at the FIBA World Championship in 2014, averaging 8.3 points and a team-leading 5.4 rebounds in helping Canada to a fifth place finish, the country’s best result since 1986. In 2015 she helped Canada win gold on home soil at the Pan American Games in Toronto, averaging 7.8 points per game. She was also part of the Canadian team that won the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship, qualifying the squad for Rio 2016. In her second Olympic Games, Ayim averaged 4.7 points per game.”

Source:https://olympic.ca/team-canada/miranda-ayim/