On November 6, at 11:00 am 40 students from St. Gabriel the Archangel school along with Soldiers from Calgary, Major Nolan Kemp and Sgt Pierrard, Rocky View Councillor Gerry Gautreau, members of the Rocky View Fire Department, By-law Enforcement, members of the public and Rocky View Garden of Peace Cemetery staff participated in the No Stone Left Alone Remembrance Ceremony.
This is part of a national program that occurs in every province and territory in Canada, where Canadian students take time out of their days to place a poppy at the headstone of veterans at local cemeteries. This is to ensure that no headstone or grave site of any veteran is left alone over Remembrance Day and that at least one member of the younger generation has recognized their sacrifice.
As Maureen Bianchini-Purvis, president of the No Stone Left Alone Memorial Foundation, states “Help me to Honour those who gave so much for our freedom and liberties for our safety and security.” Students around Canada and our own students here in Chestermere, took the time to do just this on November 6th. This very meaningful recognition helped students, and everyone present, to really understand what these veterans, military members, and their families have endured and still endure to give us the freedoms we enjoy as Canadians. Students participated in the reading of “the Act of Remembrance”, the poem “In Flanders Fields” as well as the laying of a wreath by our students in cadets. Darienne Wourms also did a wonderful job playing the Last Post on her trumpet. The students enjoyed the opportunity to speak with the soldiers, to participate in a very profound way, but also simply to remember together with other members of the community on this important day.
