Songs of Peace, Gathering and Celebration

Dear Families,

We are holding onto a sense of stability in a rapidly changing backdrop. While we do all we can to keep all members of our community safe and taken care of, we share the ways in which we have centered joy. 

There was joy in sharing the small moment stories published by third graders. After going through the important and necessary work of the writing process, there is nothing but excitement and pride in sharing their finished work. Getting creative, third grade teachers planned for each child to have their writing read by their classmates as well as grademates, and some former teachers. Third graders read each other’s writing leaving compliments and put ups for them to see later, rotating class by class into a given third grade classroom to read their stories so as to make sure there was no mixing. This was a landmark moment for students to be in other classrooms that weren’t their own, not only delving into each other’s stories but reveling in the feel of each space. 

Some school-wide traditions have pivoted to zoom, allowing us to gather in song and in motion. Our Wednesday BAX Warm-up this week was very well attended, across homes and classrooms alike.  Donna and José helped us close out 2021 with some whole body dancing and sunshine stretches.  We also gathered for our Holiday Sing, planned for the school yard and adjusted to zoom for safety and accessibility for all.  We sang songs of peace, songs of gathering and songs of celebration, together.  

Students in fourth grade studied poetry and proudly shared their poems during their shares. Taking place both in person and on zoom, fourth graders beamed at the opportunity to share with their families what they’ve been working on. These poems have been months in the making. Their poetry was inspired by art, photographs, found words, their study of traditions of indigenous people, books of poetry they read like “Locomotion” by Jacqueline Woodson, strong emotions, social justice, and reflections on what makes them who they are (“I am from” poems). Some poets read their poetry live while others pre-recorded themselves. They shared reflections of the process as well how this form of writing can help them in their future. What a beautiful way to end 2021. We’ve shared screenshots of just a few poems and poets from each fourth grade class reciting their poems in a variety of ways with a handful of their reflections. One class began their share with a land acknowledgment.

We hope that everyone has a restful, joyful, and safe holiday break. We highly encourage and recommend that your child get tested and have a negative test result before they return to school on Monday, January 3rd.

Until next time,

D&M