Celebrating joy in elementary school rainbow clubs

L to R: Gina Parkes, Amanda Collings, and Shelley Pilling. Photo provided by author.

By Gina Parkes (she/her), teacher, Chilliwack

Moments of queer joy are magical. I experienced one such moment on October 4, 2024. This was the day of our first Rainbow Club meeting at Vedder Elementary, the first of its kind in Chilliwack. This day was full of anticipation, anxiety, fear, excitement, and pure joy. To my astonishment, we had 25–30 students show up for this first meeting. At the time, this seemed unimaginable: 25+ students showing up to celebrate our colours through acceptance, respect, kindness, inclusion, and pride in diversity. To say this meeting brought me peace and happiness is true, but the impact goes far beyond that.

We are the first elementary school to host a Rainbow Club in Chilliwack, creating a space where the kids can see a queer adult (myself), and a straight cisgender ally (my colleague, Debbie Chand) coming together to create a safe space. In this context, a safe space is an environment where 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals are not only welcomed but also able to express their authentic selves without fear of judgment, harassment, or physical and emotional harm. To me, a true safe space goes beyond inclusion—it embraces representation and actively celebrates the intersectional identities that make each person unique. Additionally, allies should feel empowered to demonstrate their support without fear of being treated differently, fostering a culture of mutual respect and kindness.

As the year progressed, we all shared countless moments of joy, from reading stories with 2SLGBTQIA+ representation, creating Pride-themed pottery ornaments during the holiday season, designing and creating pins with our button-making machine, dancing to holiday songs in December, creating crafts, sharing stories, and being ourselves in a safe space.

At one point, I asked a member of the club to design a rainbow bear logo that we could use to represent our Vedder Bears Rainbow Club. My wife Liz was able to use her graphic design skills to recreate the logo in digital form (pictured above). We are going to sell pins with the new logo with the hopes of raising money to fund our upcoming field trip to The Book Man in Chilliwack!

A stand-out moment of joy occurred on Friday, October 11, which was National Coming Out Day and happened to be my birthday. As a special surprise, my wife Liz brought me a coffee during Rainbow Club, and the kids all got to meet her when I introduced her as my wife. The vibe in Rainbow Club was so energetic that day with lots of curiosity leading to questions and inquiries about me and Liz, and our little dog. Some students wanted a picture with us, and then they sat and chatted with my wife.

I had to pause here and reflect on the impact this would have had on me as a young kid growing up in Chilliwack. I did not know that a woman could marry a woman, and once I did know, I knew that it was not something people did in Chilliwack. My hope for being so transparent at school is to give the kids someone to look up to. To see a happy,

successful, and safe queer person in their school community.

After two months of running Rainbow Club, I asked the students what our Rainbow Club has meant to them, here are a few responses:

“Rainbow Club makes me feel comfortable.”

“Rainbow Club is inclusive.”

“Rainbow Club helped me identify my sexuality.”

“Rainbow Club is somewhere I can support my friends.”

These words speak for themselves. Imagine a world where everyone could be a part of a space that made them feel seen, validated, supported, and safe. These words brought tears to my eyes, signifying yet another moment of joy.

The last moment of queer joy that I want to share was when a friend of mine, Stacey Chomiak, who is a queer author and illustrator, came to join us for Rainbow Club one Friday after-noon. I invited our district’s SOGI lead to join us, who is also a member of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in Chilliwack. As I sat and watched my friend present her books and art to the Rainbow Club, I once again felt frozen in time and space. I reflected on the impact of having three members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in the room. Even if there was only one student in that room who needed to see themselves in us, it was worth it. I could not help but to feel a sense of pride and accomplishment. For the young kids in our Rainbow Club to be sitting in a room with three successful queer people meant the world to me. I will finish with a haiku I wrote earlier this year:

I am the safe adult 

That I longed for in my youth 

Making differences and saving lives