MLK Day House Block January 25th
The 8th grade is busy putting together a special day of workshops around our house mentor Dr. King and our house theme around justice. Please see the email below sent out by Karen Brennan on the WMS email group to parents if you did not already receive.
Thanks
Tuesday 8 January 2013
Dear 8th grade families,
I am writing to inform you of our plans for our next House Block Day on Friday 25 January. On one Friday per month, we modify our schedule to include an hour in the morning for students and teachers to gather by House (grade) level. Often each House will then divide into smaller Cluster or TAG groups. The purpose of this hour is to engage in activities that generate school spirit, foster positive group identity (on the TAG, Cluster and House level), support ongoing House themes, nurture team building skills, and develop the BERT capacities of belonging, empathy, respect and trust.
Our January House Block Day is unique in that we host our annual Martin Luther King Day Commemoration and Celebration for students in all grades. In addition to performances by the Jazz Band and the Select Chorus, remarks from Ms. Gavron, and a musical slide show illustrating justice and community service at work here at the middle school, several 8th graders will deliver speeches about individuals they believe best exemplify the memory and spirit of Dr. King.
Following the program in the theater, our 8th graders will participate in a series of workshops that center around questions that guide the MLK House – How can we, working together, create a just society? How can we, working together, understand how injustices occur and how we can learn from these to prevent future injustices? Our goal is to deepen our thinking around issues of justice and injustice, the foundational themes of our Social Studies course, by considering historic and contemporary instances of individual and collective resilience. To that end, in addition to mindfully observing Martin Luther King Day and honoring his legacy, we will also thoughtfully consider the Japanese American experience during World War II, the African American experience during and since King’s era, and the Islamic American experience today. We are pleased to host several workshop presenters who will share stories of overcoming injustice. These include:
Boston Mobilization
Boston Mobilization represents a group of individuals and organizations committed to transforming our suburban and urban communities by supporting youth to develop a social justice perspective, and empowering them with the leadership skills to make positive changes in their schools and communities. They currently work with many different organizations across the Boston metropolitan area to build a broad and effective network implementing social justice policies and practices across the region. Part of their mission is to empower youth to participate, collaborate, and help create the change we so desperately need. <www.bostonmobilization.org>
Islamic Center of Boston
Located in Wayland, the Islamic Center of Boston will conduct a workshop that presents some of the basic principles of Islam, explains the Center's role in the Boston area, and includes activities geared toward understanding the experiences of Muslim Americans in our society. The ICB hosts many surrounding school districts on field trips, so we are very fortunate that they are bringing their workshops to us here at the middle school. < http://www.icbwayland.org>
Theater Espresso
A performance group based in the Boston area for young audiences, Theater Espresso will be returning to perform their play “Road to Tolerance” which focuses on the U.S. government’s
I am writing to inform you of our plans for our next House Block Day on Friday 25 January. On one Friday per month, we modify our schedule to include an hour in the morning for students and teachers to gather by House (grade) level. Often each House will then divide into smaller Cluster or TAG groups. The purpose of this hour is to engage in activities that generate school spirit, foster positive group identity (on the TAG, Cluster and House level), support ongoing House themes, nurture team building skills, and develop the BERT capacities of belonging, empathy, respect and trust.
Our January House Block Day is unique in that we host our annual Martin Luther King Day Commemoration and Celebration for students in all grades. In addition to performances by the Jazz Band and the Select Chorus, remarks from Ms. Gavron, and a musical slide show illustrating justice and community service at work here at the middle school, several 8th graders will deliver speeches about individuals they believe best exemplify the memory and spirit of Dr. King.
Following the program in the theater, our 8th graders will participate in a series of workshops that center around questions that guide the MLK House – How can we, working together, create a just society? How can we, working together, understand how injustices occur and how we can learn from these to prevent future injustices? Our goal is to deepen our thinking around issues of justice and injustice, the foundational themes of our Social Studies course, by considering historic and contemporary instances of individual and collective resilience. To that end, in addition to mindfully observing Martin Luther King Day and honoring his legacy, we will also thoughtfully consider the Japanese American experience during World War II, the African American experience during and since King’s era, and the Islamic American experience today. We are pleased to host several workshop presenters who will share stories of overcoming injustice. These include:
Boston Mobilization
Boston Mobilization represents a group of individuals and organizations committed to transforming our suburban and urban communities by supporting youth to develop a social justice perspective, and empowering them with the leadership skills to make positive changes in their schools and communities. They currently work with many different organizations across the Boston metropolitan area to build a broad and effective network implementing social justice policies and practices across the region. Part of their mission is to empower youth to participate, collaborate, and help create the change we so desperately need. <www.bostonmobilization.org>
Islamic Center of Boston
Located in Wayland, the Islamic Center of Boston will conduct a workshop that presents some of the basic principles of Islam, explains the Center's role in the Boston area, and includes activities geared toward understanding the experiences of Muslim Americans in our society. The ICB hosts many surrounding school districts on field trips, so we are very fortunate that they are bringing their workshops to us here at the middle school. < http://www.icbwayland.org>
Theater Espresso
A performance group based in the Boston area for young audiences, Theater Espresso will be returning to perform their play “Road to Tolerance” which focuses on the U.S. government’s
May Takayanagi
As a high school senior in California, Ms. Takayanagi was sent to an internment camp on the west coast during World War II. Since that time, she has moved to Boston and become an activist and lobbyist for many important societal issues. We are privileged to host Ms. Takayanagi and look forward to her question and answer session with students. Her visit visit will coincide with the Theater Espresso performance.
Finally, during the last block of the day, all 8th graders will return to their homerooms for structured reflection on the day’s events.
As a former Social Studies teacher with over 20 years of classroom experience, I wholeheartedly support our celebration of Martin Luther King Day as an opportunity for guided and purposeful learning about cultural challenges unfamiliar to many of us. As King himself noted, “An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” To view the world through a lens other than our own, as often as possible, can serve to open our minds as well as our hearts.
Best,
Karen L. Brennan Assistant Principal
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