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R15 Equity & Inclusion Newsletter

May 2024: R15 Students, Staff & Families

R15 Equity &Inclusion NewsletterMay 2024: R15 Students, Staff & Families

Region 15 Art Show

Region 15's 36th annual art show took place April 26-27 at Pomperaug High School and featured beautiful art from our students! See below for just a few examples of the phenomenal installation. The art department's theme this year was Identity.
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In 6th grade at MMS with Mrs. Machecek, students explored the ideas of radial balance and symmetry in examining the work of Tibetan artists and their sand mandalas. They created crayon resist mandalas, pictured here.

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6th grade artists with Mrs. Machecek at MMS also drew Identity Self Portraits. Students reflected on their identities and included adjectives to describe themselves. They also studied the work of artist Bisa Butler in this unit and how she uses color to express emotions in her portraits.
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At GES in art with Mrs. Saginario, students also created identity self portraits with adjectives to describe themselves. Featured here is first grade artist, Violet Brown's, portrait!
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In 4th grade at MES with Mrs. Tresca, students leared about Kachina dolls, created by Hopi parents/guardians to represent characteristics of the child receiving the doll. Pictured here, these dolls were created with the 4th graders' own characteristics. Some of them represent "self portraits," some represent their likes and some represent an animal or person that they feel shares their character traits.
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Artists in first grade with Mrs. Tresca at MES learned the ancient Chinese technique of brush painting and created Cherry Blossom scrolls, pictured here.

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At LMES in art with Ms. Azukas, the bulletin board pictured here offers a snapshot some of the ways in which artists across grade level explored the theme of identity through their art making this year.

How can we act as global citizens?

How are we connected to places without physically setting foot there? Third grade students at MES in Mrs. Samson & Mrs. DeAngelis' classes investigated the inquiry question: "how can we act as global citizens?" in Social Studies recently.


They explored the ways in which we are connected to places through the movement of people, ideas, and goods. They studied related inquiry questions such as: Where in the world are we? How does geography shape culture? How are we connected to the global community through what we produce and consume?


At the end of the unit, students needed to address the overarching unit question - how can I play a part in the global community? They needed to work together to develop a statement that describes the action they will take, the product they will create, the people they will affect, and the goals they will would work towards. Below is a photo from Mrs. DeAngelis' class, who chose to do so through the lenses of fairness and inclusion.



Happy...

  • Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month: Like many commemorative months, AAPI Heritage Month was first introduced in Congress, and became public law in 1978. Another term you may hear is ADIPA month (Asian, Pacific Islander, Desi American) Month.
  • Jewish American Heritage Month: Jewish American Heritage month was passed by the House of Representatives in 2006 and the Senate in 2007.
  • National Mental Health Awareness Month: This month has been observed since 1949.
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Watch

PBS has extensive offerings honoring National Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Click here!


Photo Source: PBS

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Read

for Jewish American Heritage Month:


Check out this collection of recommendations from children's to adult fiction and nonfiction texts to honor Jewish American Heritage Month from the Jewish Book Council: click here.


Photo Source: Jewish Book Council

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Listen

for National Mental Health Awareness Month:


Click here to access a collection of mental health and wellness podcasts for kids, tweens, and teens from Common Sense Media.


Photo Source: American Counseling Association

Read Aloud Video featuring PHS students! Read Aloud Video featuring PHS students!

Please join us in watching the read aloud video below in honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage month! No matter your age, we hope you find the monthly read aloud video to be valuable. This particular title was selected as one of the March Book-A-Day 2023 titles which all of our elementary students experienced last year and each school holds multiple copies of this text.


Yes We Will: Asian Americans Who Shaped this Country by Kelly Yang was the text we chose to share. Each spread illustrated by a different renowned Asian or Asian American artist. This book is read with permission of Penguin Random House.


Special thank you to our student guest readers in this video, two of our Asian Student Union officers: PHS Senior Amanda V. & PHS Junior Gabby L.

Yes We Will Asian Americans Who Shaped This Country, May 2023 Read Aloud Video

Calendar of Religious Observances

**Note that Jewish, Islamic, Bahá’í holidays begin at sundown the previous day and end at sundown on the date listed.**


  • 5/2/24 HOLY THURSDAY (Eastern Orthodox Christian) Also known as Maundy Thursday, it is celebrated on the Thursday before Pascha commemorating the Last Supper, at which Jesus Christ and the Apostles were together for the last time before the Crucifixion.
  • Friday 5/3/24 HOLY FRIDAY (Eastern Orthodox Christian) Commemorates the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ on the Friday before Pascha. Known as Good Friday in Western Christianity.
  • Sunday 5/5/24 PASCHA (Eastern Orthodox Christian) Known as Easter in Western Christianity, it celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
  • Monday 5/6/24 YOM HASHOAH (Jewish) “Holocaust Remembrance Day” memorializes the heroic martyrdom of six million Jews who perished in the Nazi Holocaust
  • Thursday 5/9/24 ASCENSION DAY (Western Christian) Also known as Holy Thursday, celebrated 40 days after Easter, it commemorates the ascension of Jesus into Heaven.
  • Sunday 5/19/24 PENTECOST (Western Christian) Also known as Whitsunday, the seventh Sunday after Easter commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and women followers of Jesus Christ. Marks the birth of the Christian Church.
  • Thursday 5/23/24 VISAKHA PUJA (Buddhist) Also known as Vesak or Buddha Day, it marks the birth, spiritual awakening and death (nirvana) of the historical Buddha. (This date may vary based on region or sect.)
  • Thursday 5/23/24 DECLARATION OF THE BÁB (Bahá’í) Commemoration of May 23, 1844, when the Báb, the prophet-herald of the Bahá’í Faith, announced in Shíráz, Persia, that he was the herald of a new messenger of God.
  • Sunday 5/26/24 LAG B’OMER (Jewish) Celebrates the end of a divine-sent plague and/or Roman occupation during Rabbi Akiva’s lifetime (died c. 135 CE).
  • Tuesday 5/28/24 ASCENSION OF BAHÁ’U’LLÁH (Bahá’í) Observance of the anniversary of the death in exile of Bahá’u’lláh, the prophetfounder of the Bahá’í Faith.
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Contact

Instagram: r15equity_inclusion


The importance of listening to your lived experiences, insights, ideas, and perspectives cannot be overstated. Please feel free to reach out! We'd love to connect.


*Note: Quotation (c) 2019 CLC Collective and Dottir Press

Email: equity_inclusion@region15.org
Website: https://www.region15.org/community/equity-and-inclusion
Twitter: @r15equity

Erin Birden
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