On September 30th, 2016 Tec Voc High School staff and students took part in Orange Shirt Day - Every Child Matters. 

"Orange Shirt Day is an opportunity for First Nations, local governments, schools and communities to come together in the spirit of reconciliation and hope for generations of children to come"  - orangeshirtday.com

Below is messages left by Tec Voc staff and students:

“My prayers out to the families that have suffered”

“I hope every Canadian will learn about the stories of Residential School Survivors.”

“Don’t give up”

“Don’t give up”

“I hope you guys feel better. God bless”

“Happy Thoughts”

“We believe in you!”

“I hope that all the residential school survivors get the justice they deserve.”

“There is hope”

“Be strong”

“If you give up on hope, you give up on life”

“Don’t give up on hope and keep up the great work!”

“Believe in yourself”

“I hope students show teachers more respect”

“Send my hope to you”

“My thoughts and prayers are with you”

“Your past does not define you, what you make out of it does.”

“Keep the spirit alive”

“Let your smile change the world, don’t let the world change your smile”

“We walk together with you.  Keep strong!”

“#STOP DAPL”

“Happy Thoughts”

“You people are strong.  You didn’t let your past bring you down.  Even when the system is trying to.  I hope you find who you really are and that your living a happy life now to balance the bad.  Your pain will not be forgotten”

“Stay strong”

“You are amazing”

“Smile it can change your world”

“Positive mind, positive vibe, positive life.”

“It won’t happen again, stay strong”

“Your struggles are not forgotten.”

“Forgiveness for everyone!”

“School is important and should be a happy, safe place to learn. Thank you for sharing your stories”

“My son will grow up learning his history in school”

“We will never forget what happened”

“Keep your head up!”

“Keep your head up.  Blessings”

“Stay strong”

“Tell your past so others don’t go through it.”

“Keep being strong and don’t give up!”

“Look @ the Brightside!”

“Joy”

“Positive Message”

“Your story will be heard.”

“Good vibes”

“We hurt with you, but we heal together #everychildmatters”

“I pray each and everyone of the survivors heal from the hurting past they’ve been through”

“Though you were isolated for 300 sleeps in there, though you felt you were alone you were not! There are people who were waiting for you, be it a relation or a friend.”

“Believe there is good in the world!”

“I hope that more survivors will come forward and tell their stories to bring more awareness to the issue.  I hope that there will one day be more resources in place for the survivors to recover and move on from the horrible things they encountered in residential school.  I hope one-day people will be fully accepting and understanding that this was apart of our past rather than telling people to move on and forget.  This is something that should never be forgotten.”

“Your struggles have not been forgotten.  #everychildmatters”

“Try to do things that you wanted to do when you were at school, but couldn’t.”

“We got your back.  You’re not alone anymore.”

“A message of hope for residential school survivors.  I am very, truly sorry that you had to go through such a thing, and being taken away from your family at such a young age.  I hope you’re doing fine, stay strong and keep your head high.”

“We move forward together”​