Students at Walnut Grove Secondary are outraged that their Remembrance Day assembly has been cancelled.

Jessica Olszewski, a Grade 12 student at Walnut Grove, told The Times that despite having Remembrance Day assemblies in past years, her school is not organizing a major ceremony for students this year.

鈥淓veryone was pretty mad. Honestly it was jaw-dropping,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 insanely disrespectful.鈥�

Cari Andrews, also in Grade 12, says she is very disappointed.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 extremely disrespectful. It鈥檚 important because these soldiers fought for us. It doesn鈥檛 make sense to me,鈥� she said.

Instead of an assembly, the school is having the students read pieces over the P.A. system, followed by a moment of silence 鈥� something Olszewski believes is not good enough.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not anything sentimental at all,鈥�  she said.

Given the current teachers鈥� strike, Walnut Grove principal Jim Darby believes holding this type of ceremony is the best alternative for the school鈥檚 situation this year.

鈥淭he idea of doing it this way came from one of our other members of the admin team here, and in their experience it had been done in other schools and it went over remarkably well. The impact was there,鈥� he said.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want to put teachers in an awkward position to have to make a decision, particularly when it is Remembrance Day. We didn鈥檛 want a political piece crowding what is a solemn occasion.鈥�

The students are also blaming the teachers鈥� strike for the cancellation, but the 91原创 Teachers Association says this is not the case.

鈥淲e have not issued any directive to cancel Remembrance Day, in fact that鈥檚 the one assembly that鈥檚 mandated through the School Act,鈥�  said LTA president Gail Chaddock-Costello.

鈥淓very school must hold some form of an assembly. It can be as simple as asking all students to bow their heads in a moment of silence while they read a prayer over the P.A. system. Exactly what is included in the Remembrance Day ceremony can be very simple to complex, but some sort of recognition must be given.鈥�

Chaddock-Costello says it is up to the administrators to organize any type of assembly, not the teachers.

鈥淥ur directive to teachers is that they are not to organize them during job action but if they receive information that they are to bring students to the gymnasium or somewhere to participate at such and such a time, then they will do that and students will attend.鈥�

Walnut Grove students have taken to making their own posters and creating a Power Point presentation to show other students the significance of Remembrance Day.

鈥淓specially for the Grade 8 students it鈥檚 important to teach them the importance of this day,鈥� Olszewski said.

Other secondary schools in 91原创 including D.W. Poppy, Aldergrove Community Secondary and Brookswood Secondary are holding their regular assemblies to be attended by the whole school.

Aldergrove has organized a multi disciplinary presentation and drama students at Brookswood are putting together a performance.

91原创 Secondary School, on the other hand, has also opted to hold a minute of silence and will hand out poppies to students.

鈥淏ased on opinions of my colleagues, it will have most of the sentiment of an assembly,鈥� Darby said. 鈥淚t will be different.

鈥淚t is a change, and I鈥檇 say some of the sentimentality will be lost. But I think if students are quiet in their classrooms and are listening to what is being said, it will not be as good as being in the gym but it鈥檚 very close.鈥�

Darby says Walnut Grove is planning on returning to regular Remembrance Day assemblies next year.