Culture of Belonging

At Rosseau Lake College, we understand that we have a duty to ensure that every student feels welcome at our school, valued for who they are, respected, cared for, and supported so that they can participate in RLC activities and learn in a thriving and inclusive community.

A Vision of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at Rosseau Lake College

Making Guarantees
At Rosseau Lake College, we profoundly understand and honour our duty to ensure that every community member feels safe and welcome at our school, always. All members must feel valued for who they are, respected, cared for, and supported so that they may participate in all aspects of RLC life, and learn in a thriving and inclusive community. While we do not guarantee perfection, we do guarantee unending devotion to the care and safety of each of our community members. We guarantee our efforts to ensure all eyes remain open always so that we can better identify, name, learn and grow from our missteps.  

Modelling a Growth Mindset Through a Restorative Approach
There are occasions when our community is faced with difficult moments when specific words and actions diminish the very idea of inclusion. These moments greatly compromise the safety and overall experience of each of us. While we work to ensure all discriminatory behaviour is identified and confronted, we also believe in each of our students, to the extent that each student demonstrates and maintains a commitment to, and belief in, our school. As a school, our overriding intent is to educate: to work, as a team, within our learning cultures, to ensure lasting learning and growth. RLC has made a commitment to developing restorative practices in our community so that we may always understand the effect, implications and impact of specific behaviours, as well as the appropriate and effective processes of repairing community.

Looking Outward: Ongoing Mentorship
RLC is very lucky to be able to look towards faculty member and Indigenous Seven Generations Program Coordinator, Dawn Tabobondung, as well as mentors in the Wasauksing First Nation Community for guidance. This guidance helps to ensure that we continue to learn, and discover further important steps and action for our community.  

Looking Inward: EDI Committee
Rosseau Lake College has an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee devoted to the ongoing examination of inclusiveness at our school. The EDI Committee helps ensure a collective commitment towards identifying, collecting and building ideas, strategies, and resources that will help all members of our community to connect more profoundly with the very idea of exclusion and our collective and individual responsibilities in taking action, not allowing it to go unnoticed.  We are forever looking inward, identifying our gaps, challenges, and opportunities for growth. It is in an open, inviting, inclusive approach to action that serves to better solidify our immediate and larger community. This is important work that permeates through the school’s culture, guides actions, and is reflected in the lived experiences of all community members.

Our EDI Commitment Through the Seven Grandfather Teachings and Our Rosseau Roots
Our Rosseau Roots, and our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion are grounded in our ongoing learning from the Seven Grandfather Teachings: Anishinaabe values that have been passed down through the generations as a guide to growing, learning, and living a good life.

As a school community, we are not immune to hatred, nor can we claim the high moral ground of knowing exactly what to do about it. What we can do is acknowledge that we have work to do, all of us, to displace hatred with love. We can acknowledge that this work will continue throughout our lives, and that it is the most sacred and meaningful work we have as human beings.

– Robert Carreau