HSD Equity and Inclusion Updates

OQS: Kari Amick & Laura Brooks

WRS: Kathleen Grady & Linda Saturley

HMMS: Patrick Lincoln, Angela Janoo, & Susannah Conway

HHS: Becky Whitney & Steve Gagliardone

HACTC: Timmy MacDonnell

TWS: Sheri Gauvin & Julie Gribble

Award-winning comic artist Robyn Smith came to the White River School to share parts of her story of coming to the United States at the age of sixteen from Jamaica and of her journey to becoming a comic artist.

Robyn Smith is known for her mini-comic "The Saddest Angriest Black Girl in Town", illustrating "Nubia: Real One" (written by LL McKinney) and "Wash Day Diaries" (written by Jamila Rowser) which won the 2022 LA times Book Prize for Best Graphic Novel. She has an MFA from the Center for Cartoon Studies and was awarded the 2024 Ignatz Award for "Outstanding Artist".

This is part of a Library and Art collaboration in which upper elementary grades classes learn migration stories from primary and secondary sources and will ultimately create a comic that tells a migration story.

• Teacher Spotlights: The Council interviewed teachers to uncover their "unique color qualities." These insights were turned into colorful signs posted throughout the hallways, helping students see their mentors in a new light.
• Daily Announcements: Each morning, Student Council members shared the meaning behind the day’s colors and offered concrete ways to practice kindness.
• Interactive Trivia: To keep the school engaged, the Council challenged students with daily trivia questions based on the teachers' unique color traits.

April is Arab American Heritage Month!

April 2 Pesach/Passover (Jewish)

April 5 Ch'ing Ming Festival (China, Taiwan)

April 14 Yom HaShoah (Israel, Jewish)

April 14 Baisakhi (Bangladesh - Sikh, Hindu)

April 14 Songkran/New Year (Cambodia, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand)

April 23-24 Gathering of Nations Pow Wow (Indigenous)

April 30 Walpurgis Night (Sweden)

In your school's weekly newsletter, we provide a quick blurb, article, video, or story to help you better understand the HSD Anti-Racism and Gender Inclusivity Policies. Here is a link where you can access all the past Curiosity Corner information!