Bellerose Composite High School has been recognized for its contributions to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) community through a student’s nomination.
Bellerose’s weekend was already quite eventful with graduation, but the celebration extended further for teachers Krysta Wosnack and Karen Labahn with news the school would receive a Pride Certificate, honouring the working they have done in their Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA).
Melissa Dammel, a student at Bellerose, made the nomination unbeknownst to either faculty members, who later found out the school had been selected via email.
“What made me nominate Bellerose for one of the Pride Awards is how much our school has done for the pride community,” said Dammel. “I think the GSA has made a difference because we had so many people [for support].”
The GSA started under the radar at Bellerose after Labahn, the music teacher, talked to some of her students in the fine arts program. Labahn spoke to the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) and prominent members of the community in Edmonton, including St. Albert’s Kris Wells.
Wells visited the school to speak to the faculty and parents. Once the school had the support of the ATA, the group was able to start up. Posters were put up about meetings, and though some were ripped down, there was still a large amount of respect from the student body. The main goal, as Wosnack said, was to offer support for students and give them a safe place for discussion.
“This year we kind of started to be a bit more vocal. We participated in the Cupcake Festival, we’ve been doing announcements, putting up posters, had more meetings and had guest speakers come out,” said Wosnack. “The big thing this year was the Day of Silence. It was huge because a bunch of our students were the ones that ran the whole thing. They brought the stuff, they talked to the staff about it, they started a Facebook page — it was amazing.
“We had 41 students actively participating that day, which was huge. We have a core group of five to eight students that show up for the GSA, so that was amazing.”
With more than $140 in donation to the Pride Centre from the Day of Silence, a school event where students signed up and gave an oath to remain silent until dismissal, Bellerose’s GSA has started to make its mark. The support and efforts have begun to make a difference in the school as it heads into another school year and a new generation of incoming students to match.
“I think it’s great,” said Wosnack. “I think it’s just a testament to how great our students are.”
