The New Westminster school board anticipates bringing an update on the May Day celebration in early fall, chair Mark Gifford says.
A few dozen people filled the boardroom in the New West School District office for a short time during the June 25 public board meeting, with many of them speaking during the first public comment/question period of the night in favour of keeping May Day preparations within school hours.
School board recently voted to move the traditional May Day dance instruction to outside class time in large part due to the commitment of resources.
That move hasn’t come without pushback, however, with supporters of the event turning up in a May school board meeting, and again at the June 25 meeting.
In the more recent meeting, supporters pushed back on the notion that May Day dance lessons distract from schools’ obligation to learning.
One teacher, speaking in favour of May Day at the meeting, said the lessons are “woven throughout” the B.C. curriculum.
“When I take the time in my library to teach our students how May Day started and all of the kinds of things that happened in the history of this amazing city, they are in complete awe,” she said.
Indeed, several students who went through the May Day program said they felt it helped in a variety of areas.
“May Day taught me how to speak in front of a lot of people, which I’m not really good at, and also writing a speech,” said one student.
Another student said, “It did teach me a lot of leadership skills and teaching in front of a big crowd. It’s not easy for kids, for sure.”
One young girl who has not yet aged into May Day celebrations said she’s excited to take part after her older sister participated recently and with the knowledge that her grandmother took part.
Several adults, accompanying their children at the meeting, also spoke in favour of the event.
Rocky Suffron, a founding member of the Citizens May Day Focus Group, called for a closed-door meeting between his group, the school board, the city’s mayor and council and the Hyack Festival Association.
“We would like this to be done in early- to mid-September to give us all time to plan ahead,” Suffron said.
“Traditionally, this is more precious to our children and city than this board can truly understand. We don’t need any surprises.”
Following the public question period, Gifford thanked the students and parents for “sharing some really thoughtful feedback on why it’s important,” but said the board did not have any updates on the matter.
“But you can look forward to an update from the board early in the fall.”
