Hatboro-Horsham School District

As a school district, we truly believe that “ALL ARE WELCOME HERE” and we are constantly looking for opportunities to be more inclusive, build awareness, and develop our cultural competence to be more equitable in our way of supporting our students, staff, and community. This monthly inclusive newsletter will serve as a resource for our staff and families to learn more about the diverse cultures and members of our community.

Beginning Sunday, March 10, 2024, at sundown, some members of our Hatboro-Horsham community will begin a holy month of fasting known as Ramadan. As we continue to strive to be inclusive and supportive of all members of our community to reinforce our belief that “All are Welcome,” we ask that you join us in acknowledging this Islamic tradition by being aware and supportive of our students, staff, and colleagues.

What is Ramadan? Ramadan is the holiest month of the Islamic year and is more of a religious observation than a holiday. It is a month of fasting and renewal. Observing Muslims, except for the young, the old, the sick, pregnant women, and travelers abstain from food and drink throughout daylight hours. The fast begins at dawn and ends after sunset and is broken by a meal called iftar. Just before dawn, another meal is eaten in preparation for the long day of fasting. In many Muslim-majority countries, business and school hours are shortened during Ramadan. This year, Ramadan will begin at sundown on March 10, 2024, and is expected to end on April 9, 2024.

Eid-al-Fitr (pr. Eed-al-fitter) is the holiday celebrated at the conclusion for Ramadan, celebrating the breaking of the fast, held this year on April 10th or April 11th. Observing students and/or staff may elect to take the day off from school to celebrate Eid-al-Fitr.

While it is appropriate and common to say, “Happy Ramadan” to someone who is participating in Ramadan, the common Arabic greetings are “Ramadan Mubarak” or “Ramadan Kareem” which translate to “Happy Ramadan” and “Have a blessed Ramadan.” The appropriate greeting for Eid-al-Fitr is “Happy Eid” and the Arabic greetings are “Eid Mubarak” and “Eid Kareem” which translate into “Happy Eid” and “Have a blessed Eid.”

How can I support students, staff, and families? Awareness, acknowledgment, and empathy. A good start is growing our own cultural knowledge. As we increase our own knowledge and awareness, we will naturally become more understanding of students and unique aspects of different cultures for all of our students. While we may not know the religions of our students - and we should not directly ask them - we can always encourage students and families to share their experiences, especially those that may impact their schooling.

If you are aware of a student or family observing Ramadan, acknowledging this tradition through your actions will reinforce what we believe as a school district. To be equitable and culturally competent, we must meet students, families, and staff where they are and look for ways to provide support. Rather than looking to reduce expectations or demands, we want to ensure that we are providing flexibility and understanding. As a community, we may observe students becoming less energetic as the day progresses, so if it is feasible, administering assessments earlier in the day would be preferable. When planning classroom events or activities, we ask that you consider the implications when offering food or drinks and what message that sends. In each of our schools, if requested or needed, students should be provided with an alternative location during the lunch period. Similarly, with our staff, we must model understanding, flexibility and identify ways to provide support during this holy month.

Here are some additional resources:

• The Ramadan Timetable: https://www.muslimaid.org/what-we-do/religious-dues/when-is-ramadan-ramadan-timetable/

• Ramadan Information: https://ing.org/resources/for-all-groups/calendar-of-important-islamic-dates/ramadan-information-sheet/

Once again, thank you for the great work you do each day to illuminate the importance of our students, staff, and families to make them feel unapologetically connected to the Hatters community.

The National Women’s History Month’s theme for 2024 celebrates “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.” The theme recognizes women throughout the country who understand that, for a positive future, we need to eliminate bias and discrimination entirely from our lives and institutions.

Hatboro-Horsham would like to recognize the women of our community who make our community stronger through your actions, effort and support.

• DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES AWARENESS MONTH - The purpose of this month is to raise awareness and understanding of the barriers that people with disabilities face and about the inclusion of people with disabilities creating strong, diverse communities.

• IRISH AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH - to honor the contributions and achievements of Irish Americans.

• International Women's Day - March 8, 2024

• International Women's Day (IWD) is a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. This day serves to highlight the progress and commitment towards gender equality. The theme for 2024 is Inspire Inclusion.

• Ramadan - March 10, 2024 (begins at sundown)
  

• The holy month of Ramadan begins at the first sighting of the crescent moon on the last night of the eighth month over Mecca, Saudi Arabia and because of this, the start and end dates may vary by a day. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and honors the time when Allah revealed the Qur'an to Muhammad. All Muslims take part in the month-long, dawn-to-sunset fasting to cleanse the body and reminder of the suffering of the poor. The final evening of Ramadan is called Eid al-Fitr and is a celebration and feast. To all those who observe Ramadan, "Ramadan mubarak!"

• Daylight Savings Time - March 10, 2024

• Spring forward and set the clocks one hour ahead!

• St. Patrick's Day - March 17, 2024

• A celebration of Irish culture in observation of the death of St. Patrick, the patron saint who brought Christianity to Ireland. Celebrations include parades, festivals, traditional Irish music, and the wearing of green or shamrock attire.

• Eastern Orthodox Beginning of Lent - March 18, 2024

• Observance of Lent begins for Orthodox Christians on Clean Monday (whereas Western denominations begin on Ash Wednesday). Lent commemorates the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation before beginning his ministry. The purpose of Lent is to prepare the believer for Easter through prayer, repentance and simple living.

• International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination - March 21, 2024
  

• Declared by the UN in 1966 to be commemorated annually on this day in observance of the Sharpeville Massacre in South Africa. The global celebration signifies efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination, fight for human dignity, and to combat hatred. The 2024 theme is Eliminate Racial Injustice.

• Purim - March 23, 2024
  

• Purim is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from annihilation at the hands of an official of the Achaemenid Empire.

• Memorial of Christ's Death - March 19, 2024
  

• Jehovah's Witnesses observe the anniversary of the death of Jesus and honor him for his sacrifice.

• World Down Syndrome Day - March 21, 2024
  

• This is a global awareness day to advocate for the rights and inclusion of people with Down Syndrome. The 21st day of March was selected to signify the uniqueness of the triplication of the 21st chromosome which causes Down syndrome.

• Good Friday - March 29, 2024
  
• Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus. Worshippers typically pray and reflect along the 14 Stations of the Cross or images of Christ's journey from condemnation through his crucifixion and death.

• Easter - March 31, 2024
• Easter is one of the principal holidays of Christianity. It marks the Resurrection of Jesus three days after his crucifixion and death.

• Transgender Day of Visibility - March 31, 2024
• An annual day dedicated to celebrating transgender people and raising awareness of discrimination faced by transgender people worldwide.
  

To our Hatters families, we hope that you have a memorable holiday season with your family and loved ones.

Previous Month's Newsletters:

September 2023

October 2023

November 2023

December 2023

January 2024

February 2024

March is National Reading Month, a celebration that encourages reading for all ages and promotes reading as a key feature for learning and social development.

1. Reading makes you kinder

• Studies have found that people who read more fiction books are more likely to be kinder than those who don't

2. Reading helps you eyes

• Reading a book fast helps strengthen your vision

3. Reading reduces stress

• Allowing yourself to get lost in a book can be a great stress reliever

4. Reading improves vocabulary

• Reading improves your vocabulary as you would be coming across new words

5. Reading increases creativity

• Consistent reading increases your imagination, which stimulates your brain to develop new ideas and creative problem solving

• Acknowledge the different cultures within our school communities by affirming their presence.
• Ask questions to learn more about each others cultures.
  
• Understand that some religious holidays may require fasting, so continue to be understanding and supportive of each other.
  

• Acknowledge the different cultures within our school communities by affirming their presence.
• Provide access to visuals, resources, and recognizing their culture and traditions.

• Be mindful of assigning homework, major projects, and tests during holidays.
• Understand that not all students participate in what we may consider national holidays or traditions.

As a community, we believe that one of our greatest assets are the many traditions and cultures that are present in our community. We have a commitment to engage our families, celebrate traditions, and build a culture where everyone feels they belong, and spend time learning about one another. One of the best ways to do this and bring people together is through food.

To help celebrate and learn more about the many traditions and cultures in our community, we are inviting our families to share family recipes. Once your recipe is shared, we will then add it to our Hatter Family Recipe Book that will be accessible online for you to consider trying at home with your family.

To add your recipe to our Hatter Family Recipe Book, please click on the link below! If recipes are allergy free and feasible to make, we will partner with our food services department to provide samples for our students to try in our schools to highlight our community and families.

This is a non-exhaustive resource for our community. If there are perspectives that are not included, please provide us with your thoughts and ideas by clicking here.