On Remembrance Day 2022, the Ottawa Catholic School Board honoured veterans from the community by featuring their names on a large digital sign in front of the Catholic Education Centre from November 11-14, 2022.
By posting the names on the sign, members of our school communities and the general public could see their loved ones being publicly honoured. The electronic sign is located on West Hunt Club, a major east-west route in Ottawa, making the number of people who saw the veteran’s names in the thousands during those four days. In addition, we used OCSB’s social media channels to host a video of the slideshow so that those who were unable to see the sign in person could still enjoy the tribute.
We received ninety veterans’ names by reaching out through our OCSB social media channels, through a blog post outlining the project on our OCSB website and school websites, and by connecting with local Legions and retirement communities.
This initiative by the OCSB Communications Team supported our staff and community and allowed them to feel seen and valued. A comment from one of our principals summarizes the impact on our staff: “This is an incredibly thoughtful and powerful way to show how #ocsbRemembers. My grandfather’s name was displayed on the Board’s sign as a part of the project. I am #ocsbGrateful to be a part of this community.”
In addition to the digital sign, our classrooms and school hallways were decorated with beautiful artwork created by students of all ages. Many classes wrote letters thanking veterans for their service, and students and staff gathered together for commemorative ceremonies.