Royal Oak School is partnering up with Legion Branch 124 to teach students about the importance of Remembrance Day. 

On Wednesday, Sept. 18, the school’s students in grades 7 and 8 will visit St. Mark’s and St. Vincent De Paul cemeteries, accompanied by two veterans, for an 11 a.m. ceremony where they will place Canadian flags on the graves of soldiers.

Head of school Julia Murray said along with the act of remembrance, students will also learn significant parts of Niagara-on-the-Lake’s history. 

“They’re going to get a little bit of history on how the soldiers served and then they’re going to replenish the flag that is on their graves to ensure that they are beautiful and ready to go for the Remembrance Day ceremonies in town,” she said. 

This ceremony adds crucial context to what the students are learning in class around this time of year, Murray said, and will help them connect with class material.

“When you learn more about historical individuals who lived in the same town as you, possibly even down the street and how they contributed to what we now know as our town, it makes the sacrifice resonate a little bit more,” she said. 

The ceremony is one of many community partnerships that Royal Oak School has with different organizations across Niagara-on-the-Lake, Murray said.

The school aims to use the outdoor classroom and the wider setting of the town to help students learn, she said. 

“We live in the most beautiful, historic town in our area, we are drenched in history all around us.”