Pink Shirt Day inspires students at Beechwood and Willingdon schools
Pink Shirt Day was very exciting this year with two visits on the Jackie Fisher Empathy Tour.
Our first stop was at Beechwood Elementary School, marking our inaugural visit to an elementary school in the Lester B. Pearson School Board. We were so thrilled to meet all of the students and teaching teams.
We arrived to a sea of pink! Almost all of the hundreds of students gathered in the school’s gymnasium were wearing pink shirts to commemorate the important anti-bullying messages the day presents, promoting inclusion and kindness.
Beechwood’s Personal and Community Development animator, Ms. Patricia, greeted presenter Samara O’Gorman with a warm welcome. The morning program included an impactful skit about kindness, produced and performed by the Beechwood Kindness Club, and a lively performance by the Beechwood Dance Off Crew.
O’Gorman shared her experiences with bullying, and how discovering her passion became her superpower. She explained how passions build purpose and confidence, along with strong support systems and meaningful friendships. Through heartfelt poetry and powerful storytelling, O’Gorman inspired students to lead with empathy, confidence, and heart.
The next stop was Willingdon Elementary School, senior campus, with the unstoppable champion, Maryam Ganni. And true to form, Ganni showed her audience that we can all move from impossible to unstoppable by speaking kindly to ourselves and “feeding the good wolf.”
“I want them to know that their voice is a powerful tool, and that with their voice, they can change their world and they can change someone else’s world,” Ganni shared with CBC Montreal. You can check out CBC Montreal’s coverage of Ganni’s presentation and Pink Shirt Day at Willingdon here.
Mike Cohen’s Instagram video interview with Ganni and students, which you can view here, shows the direct impact that Ganni’s presentation had on students. One student shared: “She has a very important presentation. My brother has Down syndrome. And Mime explained that even if you have setbacks in your life, you can still be unstoppable.”
Another student echoed her peer’s thoughts: “My sister has special needs as well. Mimi was so inspiring and I’m not going to forget this presentation for a long time.”
A heartfelt thank you to Ms. Patricia and the whole Beechwood Elementary School community, and Daniela Colafabio and the Willingdon Senior Campus team and students for the warm welcome. With the generous support of The Jaclyn Fisher Foundation, Inspirations is proud to continue bringing messages of empathy, resilience, and empowerment to classrooms across Greater Montreal and surrounding areas.
