Glen Grove Community Project

Over spring break, I got to fulfill a childhood dream of mine to go to the "Land of Enchantment" - New Mexico. I always wanted to go to the desert to see the mesas and mountains, and to watch the sunset sweep across the Southwest. Santa Fe certainly enchanted me with its adobe architecture, stunning mountain views, and deep-rooted history and culture.

Every local I talked to shared their great love for their city and had longstanding ties to the land, especially the artisans I met at the Palace of the Governors. The Palace of the Governors is renowned for its authentic, high-quality Native American (i.e., Navajo and Kewa Pueblo) art and jewelry, most notably turquoise in brilliant hues of green and blue. I stopped by the Palace entrance almost every day to admire the craftsmanship on display and speak to the artists themselves. I conversed with a young man whose father crafted metalwork, creating intricate pendants from mixtures of shell and turquoise, and another woman who specialized in locally sourced red coral, a trade passed down from generation to generation in her family. An older gentleman from Santo Domingo sold depressed brass art featuring Kewa Pueblo symbols he learned from his father and taught me about their meanings. A veteran artisan, who learned the trade of embedding turquoise and other fine stones in silver from her father, shared stories about how her family originally came from the Mesa Verde area and settled at a pueblo near Bandelier. She even wrote down directions to her pueblo for the next time I visit Santa Fe.

Each artist had a signature to their work and a story of how they celebrated their families through the traditional crafts they continued. Older generations would talk about how their children or grandchildren were now learning the trades as connections to their past. The sources of their materials were sources of connection and pride as well - some artists got materials from local turquoise mines, and others from community members who wanted an artist to make something beautiful from materials from the grounds of their hometown. I came to Santa Fe to see the places I had wanted to visit as a child, but came to truly appreciate its beauty through the eyes of the people I met on my trip this year.

So, if you're ever in the Land of Enchantment, make sure to talk to the people who make it enchanting.

• 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)

Learn about Will's Place, a friend of the Glen Grove Community Project, which employs people with autism and other special needs.

• Smithsonian Spotlight on Arab American History
• List of children's books by Arab Americans
• Learn about famous Arab Americans like Steve Jobs & Rami Malek

• The New York Public Library List of AAPI Children's Books
• The National Education Association's resources for teaching AAPI Heritage
• PBS Video on AAPI Month

• The Weitzman National Museum of Jewish American History
• JAHM Educational Resources
• Educational Posters

April is Autism Acceptance Month, a time to learn about and celebrate the contributions of autistic people, learn about Autism, and advocate for awareness, inclusion, and acceptance for all abilities and disabilities.

Mrs. Bream, one of our Instructional Life Skills (ILS) teachers, has been teaching all of our students about ability awareness and inclusion throughout the year. Here's her recommended reading list! Thank you for sharing, Mrs. Bream!

Japan has a holiday just for children! On May 5, Children's Day (originally called Boys' Day, Kodomo no Hi) is the culminating holiday in a series of Japanese holidays called Golden Week. Though there are distinct companion Boys' and Girls' holidays in Japan (Hinamatsuri on March 3 is specifically dedicated to celebrating girls in a family), all children can participate in this holiday. It traditionally marked the start of the rainy season in Japan and has aspects borrowed from the Chinese Boat Festivals. Carp or koi are symbolic of this holiday, as seen below, because of their association with the story of Kintaro, a legendary boy who grew up to be a noble warrior and protector, as well as the belief that if a carp can swim up a waterfall, it will become a dragon. The top koi is black, symbolizing the patriarch, and under it is a red fish for the matriarch. Under the red fish is a blue one, symbolizing the firstborn son, and then other colorful fish under that to symbolize other siblings. Boys are gifted replica samurai hats, symbolizing their families' hopes that they grow up to be powerful and noble like Kintaro. When the holiday's name changed to Children's Day, it added the purpose of honoring mothers who gave birth to children and of appreciating their work in raising them.

Learn how to make your own koi flags with this video!

How do you celebrate the important people in your life?

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. This year, a donation was made to the National Indigenous Women's Resource Center

• Katherine Ellison, Glen Grove Principal
• Aurora Joaquin, Glen Grove Speech-Language Pathologist
• 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
• Jill Burns, Glen Grove Science Coach
• Sylvia Gorski Duarte, District Title III Family Resource Teacher
• Lindsey Lurie, District Multilingual Instructional Coach

Email: GGCommunityProject@gmail.com

Instagram: @ggcommunityproject