INNISFAIL – An Innisfail Middle School student, Sloane C., has designed the winning entry in the national Every Child Matters T-Shirt logo contest for 2025, Chinook’s Edge School Division (CESD) said in a release.
The contest is hosted by the Orange Shirt Society, which was formed 10 years ago to create awareness of the individual, family and community inter-generational impacts of Indian Residential Schools with the purpose of supporting Indian Residential School Reconciliation and promoting the truth that every child matters, according to its website.
Sloane’s winning design will be printed on T-Shirts that will be distributed by the society.
Her design features a drawing of two children beside a tree with the words “Every Child Matter” in the branches.
“I put a tree with a heart-shaped branches, twisted around the words ‘Every Child Matters’,” said Sloane. “The heart shape says to children that they are all loved. The tree is to help them feel rooted to the earth and rooted in knowing they are important.
“There are two children, a boy and a girl, who have no expression on their faces because they represent any child.”
She said she is pleased to know that her design will help raise donations for children in need.
“That makes me happy,” she said.
Innisfail Middle School principal Scott Stefanek said, “We are proud that one of our students created the design. Even more, we are proud of Sloane’s commitment to reconciliation and her kind act that speaks volumes about her character.”
The 11,700-student CESD “strives to engage authentically about reconciliation,” he said.
“That involves educating our students about the historical events which have shaped Canada’s relationship with Indigenous peoples, and also the contemporary reality of moving forward together.”
Sloane will receive $200 and she will travel to Manitoba on Orange Shirt Day in September for an opportunity to meet with Phyllis Webstad, whose story inspired Orange Shirt Day.
