It is with great pleasure to announce that Eastwood Colligate Institute is the recipient of Harmony Movement’s 2014 Harmony School of the Year Award.

Eastwood C.I. is an incredibly diverse school, hosting the Waterloo Region’s esteemed Integrated Arts Program as well as being a magnet site for English Language Learners.

Students describe ECI as a place that accepts everyone, embracing all cultures, genders, and religions. This social fabric is maintained by Eastwood’s CSI (Caring, Safe, and Inclusive Schools) group that meets once a month. This group includes student leaders from a variety of school clubs and is generously supported by school staff.

After completing Harmony’s diversity program at the board’s Youth Equity Camp in the winter of 2014, the CSI group planned and executed an Equity and Inclusion Week to bring our thoughts and ideas to the greater student and staff community. The goal was to start and encourage difficult conversations with both staff and students, but the results exceeded our expectations!

Diversity is rich, and respect and inclusivity are always in the foreground at Eastwood. It is a school where both organically and intentionally, these concepts emerge via daily teachings and learnings. It is with tremendous Rebel pride that we say thank you to the Harmony Movement for helping us to continue these important conversations!

Visit the Harmony School of the Year Award announcement to read the full story, by Karen Lillie, the assistant department head of English at Eastwood.

What is the Harmony School of the Year Award?

It is an award presented annually to an Ontario elementary or secondary school that has completed the Harmony Diversity Leadership Certificate Program (DLCP), or the Equity Leadership Training Program (ELTP) within the past school year, in recognition of their exemplary achievements in going above and beyond the training to promote diversity, equity and inclusivity in both their schools and their communities.