In the advent of Remembrance Day, schools across the country are preparing various performances and presentations to honour our veterans and service people. The Humboldt Public School Grade 7 classes will embark on a new activity this year. The No Stone Left Alone Memorial will be carried out by the classes on Monday, November 4 at the Humboldt Community Cemetery on Highway 20.

The No Stone Left Alone Memorial is a simple but powerful way to animate young people in their understanding of the sacrifices made by the country’s veterans. Grade 7 teacher Robyn Moore gives a bit of background to the ceremony.

“It’s a national charitable organization that was actually founded by a woman from Edmonton, Mrs. Maureen Bianchini-Purvis. She made a point of taking her children to Beechmount Cemetery in Edmonton each year around Remembrance Day. They placed a poppy on her mother’s headstone; she was a veteran. Year after year, her daughter would ask why none of the other veterans received a poppy on their headstones; why was it only grandma’s.”

Out of that gesture was born an idea to create a national movement that would include as many school children and veterans as possible. The foundation was launched in 2011 and has grown over the years to include many Canadian communities including, as of this year, Humboldt. 

Moore saw coverage of Saskatoon’s inaugural ceremony last year and committed to bringing the idea to her students. She applied through the Memorial’s website on behalf of the school and brought the national movement to the Humboldt Public School. 

As happens every year, students have been learning about the history of Canada’s involvement in global conflicts such as the World Wars and the Korean Conflict. They have also been learning about the significance of elements of the Remembrance Day Service such as The Last Post, Reveille, and the moment of silence. This is all in advance of the ceremony happening on Monday, November 4 form 10:45 to 11:30 am. Students will make their way to the Humboldt Community Cemetery for the service and to place their poppies which were generously donated by the Humboldt Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion. 

Moore sees her class’s participation as more than a gesture. It’s an important and impactful educational moment.

“Many of our students in Canada are fortunate in that they have little or no experience with conflict and what our military does and has done in the past. So I’m hoping that this ceremony and their participation will help to bridge that gap for them. And it will be their job to carry this forward.”

As we will pause for reflection on November 11, watch for this group of students and their insightful teachers making their way up Highway 20 near the 11 o’clock hour on November 4.