Twenty-five years ago, I remember getting off the plane and taking in the early spring air, the temperatures colder than I had ever experienced. Snow was still on the ground, but the skies were clear and a few birds were perched on the barely budding trees.

As my grandmother welcomed me with open arms and a new coat, she kissed my cheek and said "Welcome to America."

I was seven when I immigrated from the Philippines on March 12, 2000. It was the first time I experienced spring because while we do have occasional mild weather in the Philippines, we don't have that sharp visual contrast of having four distinct seasons because of the tropical climate (we have "hot," "rainy," "floods," "hot again" and the occasional "a-volcano-erupted-so-it's-hot-&-ashy-everywhere").

Whereas the flora and fauna of the Philippines are bright and verdant all year round, here in the Midwest, the colors of the seasons come and go in the same way that you adjust a picture filter on your phone. From the almost monochrome of the dead of winter in January and February, March begins the increase in contrast, brightness, and saturation. The grass gets greener, the skies a little bluer, and the flowers pop up in cheerful yellows, pinks, and purples. Spring sometimes creeps slowly like vines on a trellis; other years, you step outside one day and wonder why it's suddenly too hot to wear your winter coat.

The celebrations that come with the arrival of spring emulate those changes, from the bright colors of Holi to the emerald grass centerpieces of Nowruz to the golden flowers of Vishu to the decorated eggs symbolizing new life of Easter celebrations to even the bright green-colored (and recently thawed) Chicago River on St. Patrick's Day. Like many others centered around Spring, these traditions mark the end of one season and the new beginnings of another.

All these years, I'm still amazed that I've survived the winter despite coming from literal tropical islands and every spring, I'm always grateful for the light and warmth it brings. Spring symbolizes change in many ways, but personally, it was the season when my life changed. A new life in America came with new life sprouting from the Earth - and with the cyclical changing of the seasons, my life has gone along with it.

As spring begins to bloom around us, I hope you enjoy the changes the season brings.

• List of Children's Books about Autism
• Today Show's Segment on "What to Know About Being a Good Friend to Someone with Autism According to Sesame Street
• Amazing Things Happen (video on Autism)

We are still in need of volunteers and ideas! Let a GGCP member know if you are interested!

Holi, also known as the "Festival of Colors" or the "Festival of Love," is on March 14! It's a fun celebration where people throw colorful powder in the streets and welcome the coming of spring. Our Gators celebrated Holi by putting their own colorful handprints on the walls of our display nook! See the pictures below!

The Ancient Greeks observed the changing of the seasons and from their interpretation came the story of Persephone, the daughter of the Greek goddess of agriculture, Demeter, who was whisked away to the underworld by Hades, Greek god of death. The reunion of Persephone and Demeter marks the beginning of spring and with her descent back to the underworld, the cold of winter arrives. Watch this video and check out the books below for more tales about Persephone.

How do you celebrate the changing of seasons?

The GGCP acknowledges the land upon which Glen Grove School stands on and in being part of this community, we want to share resources to further our students' and families' knowledge of the land and respect communities of past and present.

Special thank you to Dr. Ellison for also donating on behalf of the GGCP as part of the land acknowledgement at the most recent Remembering Loved Ones Event on October 25, 2024.

• Katherine Ellison, Glen Grove Principal
• Aurora Joaquin, Glen Grove Speech-Language Pathologist
• Katelyn Kelleher, Glen Grove Psychologist
• Hedy Helfand, Glen Grove English Language Learning Teacher
• Lisa Funke, Glen Grove Learning Resource Center Director
• Nicole Bright, Glen Grove 4th Grade ClassroomTeacher
• Marie Chang-Pisano, Glen Grove Reading Intervention Associate
• Sylvia Gorski Duarte, District Title III Family Resource Teacher
• Lindsey Lurie, District Multilingual Instructional Coach

Email: GGCommunityProject@gmail.com

Instagram: @ggcommunityproject