The St. Regis Mohawk School has adopted a new motto, and on Monday, Principal Thomas had the kids screaming it at the top of their lungs in a school-wide assembly. Mohawk Teacher Angela Elijah explained that Sken:nen Ratiha:wi translates exactly to peace they carry, therefore, carriers of peace. Mrs. Elijah also explained the symbolism of the Tree of Peace.

Principal Thomas mingled with the students picking volunteers to repeat the new motto.

The assembly program read: “Our goal for our school community is sken:nen ratiha:wi, this means we are all peace keepers. To make our school a wonderful place for every person, we will help each other make good, respectful choices.”

The entire school was clad in matching T-shirts, which feature the new motto on the back, and the kids will wear the shirts for events like Student of the Month assemblies. Students were also sent home with papers explaining the new school motto, and were encouraged to tell everyone the new word they learned, and to teach everybody that word as well.