Scott Sincerbox welcomed Denise Martins as today’s speaker. Over the last five years Scott and Denise have been colleagues as Superintendents of Education with the Grand Erie District School Board. He praised her skills as a communicator and a collaborator. Denise’s ability to build relationships and her tenacity to see a change through from inception to implementation made her an outstanding leader in their school board. Her work with the Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities was exemplary. Today Denis shared some of the accomplishments.

The GEDSB, like many other organizations recognized the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe people as the traditional peoples of this territory. They acknowledge and give gratitude to the Indigenous peoples for sharing these lands.
The school board represents 26,000 students in 58 elementary and 14 secondary schools within the City of Brantford, and the Counties of Brant, Haldimand and Norfolk as well as secondary students from Six nations of the Grand River and the Mississauga of the Credit First Nation.
As leaders and educators in the community the school board knew that it must respond to the finding of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada was formed as a result of recognition of the cultural genocide and assimilation inflicted upon Indigenous people in Canada for generations and in concluding its work, created 94 Calls to Action including numbers 62 and 63 specifically focused on education. 
 
The Grand Erie District School Board focused on #63 ii, iii, iv as expectations for the system. #63. We call upon the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada to maintain an annual commitment to Aboriginal education issues, including: ii. Sharing information and best practices on teaching curriculum related to residential schools and Aboriginal history. iii. Building student capacity for intercultural understanding, empathy, and mutual respect. iv. Identifying teacher-training needs relating to the above.

In response to this, effective the 2020-21 school year, the English course that Grand Erie students in all Grade 11 pathways are required to take a focused course on Indigenous content and Indigenous authors. Understanding Contemporary First Nations, Métis and Inuit Voices included updated curriculum from the Ministry of Education. The  focus on Indigenous content and Indigenous authors aligned with Grand Erie’s Multi-Year Plan 2016-21, Success for Every Student, through the Equity Indicator and worked to promote practices that help students, families and staff feel safe, welcomed and included.
 

Tom welcomed Anne Bermingham, DG 7090 for 2021-2022 to our club. Anne is currently a Past President of RC of Hamilton A.M. She has been a Rotarian for 25 years. In this time she has contributed to and led many activities, auctions, and events in her club and in our district. As the Volunteer Coordinator for Telling Tales, she worked with clubs in both 7090 and 7080. In her professional life, Anne is President of 2WA Consulting Inc. where she assists corporations and individuals with leadership development, change implementation and communication strategies. Among her other activities she is also past Chair of the Board of Directors of Hamilton Burlington United Way. Anne is dedicated to service, both in Rotary and in our community.

 

And so, Anne presented the Rotary International vision for 2021-2022, aptly titled “Service to Change Lives”. Specifically, she focused on the theme of Rotarians as People of Action who “unite and take action to create lasting change across the globe, in our communities and in ourselves.” Rotary, as a worldwide organization of over 35,000 clubs in over 200 countries acts as a connector. Alone, the organization has some strength; united with others we have the capacity to effect extraordinary change. Look at the End Polio project as just one example of action and impact.The ROTARY INTERNATIONAL ACTION PLAN for 2021-2022 is: Increase our impact, Expand our reach, Enhance participant engagement, and, Increase our ability to adapt.