Principal Message
Good Evening Families and Happy Monday,
We have officially completed a full week of school. Our teachers are so excited to have your children in our classrooms. We wish you were here to see the wonderful things our classroom teachers are doing. As I walk around the school, students are participating in building community, learning classroom expectations and procedures and most importantly building strong relationships with their teachers.
As you all know, we are having our Principal Meet and Greet on Thursday of this week from 6-7:30. Our teachers will be unavailable during this time. However, our wonderful teachers are setting up their spaces and classrooms for your visit. Teachers will be leaving activities for you and your child during this time. It will be a wonderful experience for you to hear from me as we set goals for the year around academic instruction, safety and operations and family engagement. Should you need to schedule a 1:1 conference with your child's teacher please feel free to reach out to them via email (i.e.. platforms, dojo, remind etc..) We will begin our Principal Meet promptly at 6:00 in the auditorium with a Principal Presentation.
You are all important stakeholders and expect for you to join us. There will be several tables set up with our community partnerships that include girl scouts, PTO and our Health Equity Zone partners.
Don't forget that the scholastic Book Fair will also take place at our Principal Meet. Students will have an opportunity on Thursday during the day at school to purchase items. Should they not have the opportunity during the school day you will have time on Thursday night to do so. You have an option to put money on an e-wallet as well. Click button below.
Respectfully,
Erick D. Pagan M.Ed., (Principal)
Hispanic Heritage Month
Latinx vs. Hispanic
Sometimes these terms are used interchangeably. However, Hispanic refers to any Spanish-speaking culture, so it includes Spain along with Spanish-speaking Latin American countries. Latinx (or Latine/a/o) refers to Latin American countries, including both Spanish and non-Spanish speaking nations in the Caribbean, Central America, South America and North America. This means our Haitian and Brazilian students are Latinx!
It is important to distinguish between these two terms because their histories are very different. Latin American countries have Indigenous roots and were colonized, while Spain (a Hispanic country) colonized them.
Diversity Within the Latinx Community
It is also important to remember that the Latinx community is incredibly diverse in race, gender identities, language and religion. I encourage you to be thoughtful about this as you choose books and activities to share with students, since there is not “one way” to be Latinx. Also, it is essential to amplify Black Latinx, Asian Latinx, and Indigenous experiences, as they are often not as represented in our celebration of Latinx Heritage month, but are still very much Latinx.
This is a great reminder that race, ethnicity, and identity often intersect for many people, so while these months are a great opportunity to celebrate different cultures, it is crucial that representation for all identities is considered all year long!
Indigenous People’s Day
Hispanic/Latinx Heritage month transitions into Indigenous People’s Day (October 11th). Consider setting the foundation now and work with students on recognizing the Indigenous roots of Latin America. Highlight the work Indigenous people have done and continue to do to fight for their language and culture against colonization. There is also a growing movement of Latinx who are working to reclaim their indigenous roots.
ABC had a special called Corazón de America with the following segments:
