École Morden Middle School (EMMS) paused on Thursday to hold two Remembrance Day Services.
Music teacher Heather Clyde described the morning.
“Today's services were led by our grade 8 choir students. They put things together and they planned how things would go and practiced it in class and then did most of the speaking and all the traditional things like in Flanders Fields, welcoming our speakers and everything like that. We had Legion members from the Morden Legion come. Ken Wiebe was here, and Constable Forrester was here from the Morden Police Service and then we were super fortunate to have a former EMMS student there with us.”
Tyler Peters grew up in the division, taking part in music, theatre, and hockey. His mom, Western School Division Numeracy Coach Korina Peters shared Cpl Peters' story.
After high school, he went to University of Manitoba for his U1 year and decided this wasn’t for him, worked for a few years in Winnipeg before joining the RCAF in 2019. He took his training in Quebec and headed back to Manitoba where he serves at CFB Shilo near Brandon.
Clyde said it was good for students to hear his story.
“Tyler's just like all the kids that are in their school. His picture is up on our wall in the hallway and his picture is up in the music room as having been here. And they have pictures from when he was in hockey. And he's just like all of the kids here. It's really amazing he was able to be here today too, for them to see that this is something that they could do or something that. They could be proud that he has come from their same space.”
Cpl Peters remembers going to services at school when he was a student and although they haven’t changed much, they are still valuable for students to experience and may have played a role in his decision to serve his country in this way.
He noted, when he signed up, he pledged to serve his country and the Queen, now the King. He has a message for the Pembina Valley regarding November 11th.
“I'd say on the actual day, on Monday, anybody anywhere wherever you are, if you're driving, or if you're walking down the street, or you're walking your dog or even out or you're at a Remembrance. Day ceremony, on that 11th hour take a minute to stop what you're doing and pay respect to the fallen at the minute of silence.”
Clyde emphasized the value of these kinds of services and the opportunity to have a former student and RCAF member attend the assemblies.
“That's really important for us to remember every year that our students need to have a chance to remember the Canadian military, the veterans, and the current serving. We feel like it's an important assembly to have every year. It’s very meaningful. It's very touching Tyler was able to be here today. Personally, I've known Tyler since he was about one year old, so it was meaningful to have him here today and to share our service with him today.”
Remembrance Day Services take place across the Pembina Valley on November 11th.
Winkler: 10:30 at the P.W. Enns Centennial Concert Hall
Morden: 10:30 at the Access Event Centre
Altona: 10:45 at the Altona United Church
Gretna: 10:30 at the Gretna Elementary
Carman: 10:30 at the Community Hall
Roland: 10:50 at the Roland Memorial Hall
Morris: 10:30 at the Morris Multiplex