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.

• BLACK HISTORY MONTH - a month long annual celebration and paying tribute to the achievements by African Americans and recognizing their role in US history.

The theme this year is African Americans and the Arts.

• NATIONAL FREEDOM DAY - FEBRUARY 1, 2024

• Observance of the day in 1865 when Abraham Lincoln signed the resolution to later become the 13th Amendment to abolish slavery.

• GROUNDHOG DAY - February 2, 2024
  

• A tradition observed every year that if a groundhog emerges from its den and sees its shadow, winter will continue for six more weeks; if it does not see its shadow, spring will arrive early.

• LUNAR NEW YEAR - FEBRUARY 10, 2024

• A New Year celebration based on the lunar calendar.

• MARDI GRAS - February 13, 2024

• Refers to events on the day before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is French for 'Fat Tuesday' reflecting the last night of feasting before Lent begins.

• VALENTINE'S DAY - February 14, 2024

• Is a commercial celebration of love in many regions of the world.

• ASH WEDNESDAY - February 14, 2024
  

• A holy day of prayer and fasting for many Christian denominations and marks the first day of Lent, the six weeks before Easter. Ash Wednesday is often observed with fasting and the abstinence of meat. Many Christians attend Ash Wednesday church services, at which they receive an ash mark on their foreheads. The ashes are prepared by burning the palm leaves from the prior year's Palm Sunday celebrations.

• MAHA SHIVRATRI - February 18, 2024
  

• "The Great Night of Shiva". A Hindu festival celebrating the deity 'Shiva'. The festival is observed on the fourteenth day of the dark (waning) half of the lunar month of Phalguna or Magha. It is a festival marking the remembrance of overcoming darkness and ignorance. Offerings of fruits and sweets are made to Shiva, some fast all day and others may perform meditative yoga.

• PRESIDENTS' DAY - February 19, 2024
  

• A holiday in the US celebrated to honor all those who have served as the President of the United States.

• WORLD DAY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE - February 20, 2024
  

• An international day to spotlight the need to promote social justice. Many international organizations make statements and present plans to tackle issues such a human rights, inequality, poverty, and social protections.

• MAKHA BUCHA DAY - February 24, 2024
  

• A Buddhist festival celebrated on the full moon day of the third lunar month. It is the second most important Buddhist festival after Vesak. On the day, Buddhists celebrate the creation of an ideal and exemplary community.

• LEAP YEAR - February 29, 2024
• A calendar year that includes an extra day. An astronomical year lasts slightly less than 365 1/4 days. The historic Julian calendar has three years of 365 days followed by a leap year of 366 days, by extending February to 29 days rather than the common 28.

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

As a community, we take tremendous pride in believing strongly in our motto that “All are Welcome Here.” To affirm this commitment, it is important for all members of our community to feel respected, valued, and seen throughout our school district. Over the next few weeks, we want to honor the history, contributions, and impact that African Americans have on the fabric of our country and community.

The theme for the 2024 Black History Month celebration is African Americans and the Arts.

At Blair Mill Elementary, Ms. Grimm’s first grade classroom participated in a directed drawing activity. Students learned about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his contributions as a leader of the civil rights movement. They learned about the March on Washington and read a story about Dr. King. Following the story, student created their drawing and wrote a short note to Dr. King thanking him. Students noted that they were thankful that Dr. King, “Stood up for others and was brave.”

On February 5th, Blair Mill Elementary will also participate in The National African American Read-In (AARI) sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English. All classes will read books that center on African Americans and/or written by African American Authors. The African American Read In is a “groundbreaking effort to encourage communities to read together, centering African American books and authors. It was established in 1990 by the Black Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English to make literacy a significant part of Black History Month. This initiative has reached more than 6 million participants around the world.” The program encourages students to read books written by and about African Americans.

At Crooked Billet Elementary, each day morning announcements will be providing facts about BHM and honoring specific people for their accomplishments. Crooked Billet will also be partnering with our high school Black Student Union (BSU) for a school visit to classrooms and participate in Black History Month activities to honor the theme for this year, African Americans and the Arts.

During the week of February 28th, students and staff at Hallowell Elementary School will enjoy a Jazz Ensemble concert assembly and participate in an African American Read-In where they will share books that were written and/or illustrated by African Americans to highlight the theme of the Arts.

At Simmons Elementary School, on February 15th, students and staff will be participating in the African American Read In. Each classroom will gather and partner with another class to share books that were written and/or illustrated by African Americans to highlight the theme of the Arts.

The students in 6th grade math will complete a project during Black History Month where they choose a famous African American person and conduct research to find numbers associated with that person. The students will then write expressions that, when evaluated using order of operations, are equivalent to the numbers they researched. Once completed, the students will present their expressions and worked-out solutions to their classmates.

KVMS will be sponsoring a homeroom door decorating contest celebrating individual African Americans, groups of African Americans, or an event that has contributed to or continues to contribute to justice and equality. Doors will be judged at the end of the month.

KVTV will be doing special Black History Month facts on their program each day in February, culminating in a trivia contest sponsored by the KV Library at the end of the month.

The KV Library is dedicated to continuous diversity auditing within its collection development practices. This means that the collection includes a wide range of high-quality fiction and non-fiction options that represent many cultures and identities. A sampling of the collection by Black authors or about Black Americans of interest will be highlighted on display in the library entry. Additionally, contemporary Black Americans in the arts (this year’s theme) will be around the display with QR codes leading to biographical information.

The week of February 5th, our high school student members of the Black Student Union (BSU) will be doing Elementary School visits to participate in Black History Month activities to honor the theme for this year, African Americans and the Arts. During the week of February 12th, all high school students will have the opportunity to participate in a BHM Spirit Week. Also, during that week, on February 15th, selected students will attend the Delaware Valley Consortium for Equity and Excellence Student Leadership Institute.

On February 21st, the high school will host a Black History Month Concert and Black Business Showcase. To culminate Black History Month, on March 6th, the high school will host a Black History Community Movie Night.

• 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.