Supporters of May Day want the New Westminster School Board to reconsider having dance instruction time take place after school.
Dance instruction for May Day used to occur during school hours, but now takes place outside of instruction time. The change was made earlier this year, before the annual celebration took place on May 1.
“We’re coming up to 150 years,” Kathy (Gifford) Glassie told the board at Tuesday night’s meeting. “I’d really like to see it hit 150 years and more.”
Glassie was May Queen in 1975 and is a staunch advocate of the May Day celebrations.
Fewer kids participated in the May Day dancing this year, she said, and they may never know how much they’d enjoy it.
Glassie spoke about doing things she never thought she’d like, like attending a meeting, and how it led to so much more.
“They might not want to do it, but they might have fun,” she said.
Former school board trustee Brent Atkinson told trustees there were half as many may poles as usual.
“My major concern is, a lot of students can’t participate,” he said, adding some kids have both parents working or are committed to other after-school activities.
The event still has a lot of community support, he added.
“It’s community involvement with the student population,” Atkinson said.
Another May Day supporter, Lorraine Brett, spoke about the importance of culture.
“I’m asking the trustees to reconsider the notion that the knowledge and skills transmitted through the teachers to the students that relates to the dance and music of this living cultural heritage - let it be reinstated,” she said.
The board did not speak to the issue of instruction time for the May Day dances, though board chair Mark Gifford did confirm the board is not currently reconsidering the instruction time switch.
“There is no more consultation process at this time,” he said.
