A BC school has stirred up controversy on social media after it raised concern about the soon approaching Mother’s Day, highlighting its lack of inclusivity..According to parents, Centennial Park Elementary School in Abbotsford, BC will not be celebrating Mother’s Day. Instead it will be celebrating a newly named holiday: “The Grownups Who Love us Day.”.The new, inclusive celebration will also replace Father’s Day at Centennial..“As we approach the months that Mother’s and Father’s day are celebrated, we have been thinking of a way that we could include the diverse families that exist in our society today,” reads a letter from the school..The school’s reasoning behind the name change is so that all students can feel included in card-making..“I completely agree with the decision. I’ve done the same in my classroom,” said Stephanie, mother of a child at Centennial and teacher in the Abbotsford district..“I have taught students with one parent or with deceased parents; it brings up a lot for their little minds and hearts. Centennial gave us a heads up and explained their reasoning. I’m not sure why it’s a big deal to people.”.However, others say they value having a designated day to celebrate moms, irrespective of whether they are still alive..“It will always be Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. If you need to call it something else, you do that. I won’t,” said one critic taking aim at the cancellation..“This is not inclusive at all. This is erasing motherhood and fatherhood from our culture,” said another..The Western Standard asked Kari Petzold, the school’s principal, to further expand on the reasoning and respond to concerns from a parent who did not agree with the cancellation of Mother’s Day at their children’s school..“No comment. That’s just for our school, so no comment,” she said..When asked to confirm whether students were permitted to refer to May 8 as Mother’s Day within the school and make Mother’s Day specific cards she said, “like I said, no comment. It has nothing to do with you.”.Centennial is a publicly funded school..When asked if she could confirm whether the cancellation of Mother’s Day was her decision, Petzold said, “I’m saying buh-bye.”.Reid Small is a BC-based reporter for the Western Standard.,rsmall@westernstandard.news,.Twitter.com/reidsmall
