Hatboro-Horsham School District

We hope you had a wonderful summer break with your family and loved ones. We are excited to welcome you back to another school year. As a school district, we believe “ALL ARE WELCOME HERE”.

To manifest this belief into action, we are calling on ALL HHSD staff to continue to identify and practice ways to be more inclusive, build awareness, and develop your cultural competence to be more equitable in our way of supporting our students, staff, and community. The start of a new school year is a great opportunity to establish meaningful and positive relationships within our schools.

We are excited to kick off another year with our monthly inclusive newsletters. These newsletters are intended to serve as a resource for our staff and families to learn more about the diverse cultures and members of our community.

This September, let’s come together to honor and celebrate the vibrant heritage and contributions of our Hispanic community during Hispanic Heritage Month.

Here’s to a wonderful year filled with learning, growth, and connection!

National Hispanic Heritage Month traditionally honors the cultures and contributions of both Hispanic and Latino Americans as we celebrate heritage rooted in all Latin American countries.

The Theme for 2025 is "Defining | Culture and Influence".

Below are links to resources of books that you can enjoy reading and learning more about Hispanic Heritage and Culture.

• "Reading Room Link"-This link will take you to a reading room that has a bookshelf full of books that will allow you to click on your book of choice and take you to a video to have the story read aloud.

Here are some additional books that celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month:

• Hispanic Heritage Book List
  
• Books with Latinx Characters

Many are available in our library, as well as the public libraries in Hatboro and Horsham.

To our Hatter Hispanic families, we want to acknowledge and thank you for the contributions to our school community.

• September 1st - Labor Day - celebrated on the first Monday of September, it is a federal holiday honoring the American labor movement, paying tribute to the societal and economic contribution of fair employment practices and labor equality.

• September 4th (evening) to the evening of September 5th - Mawlid al-nabi - holiday commemorating the birthday of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad.

• September 7th - Grandparents Day - celebrates the ways grandparents and older adults inspire and mentor younger generations. This year's theme, "Stories From the Table", is a way to take a moment and appreciate food, family, and the wisdom passed down through generations.

• September 10th - World Suicide Prevention Day - observed every year to draw attention to this public health issue and encourage positive change. The theme in 2025 will be "Create Hope Through Action," emphasizing strategies, connection, and solidarity in prevention.

• September 11th - Patriot Day - occurs on 9/11 each year in memory of lives lost in the September 11th terrorist attacks in 2001.

• September 22nd (evening) to September 24th - Rosh Hashanah - Jewish New Year, and it begins a month of important Jewish Holy days. It is celebrated beginning at sunset on September 22nd through sunset on September 24th. It's a time for rejoicing, self-reflection, and looking forward to the coming year. "Shana tovah!"

• September 22nd - Beginning of Fall - the first day of the fall equinox.

• • Acknowledge the different cultures within our school communities by affirming their presence.
  • Provide access to visuals, resources, and recognize their culture and traditions. All of our students should see themselves in our schools.
  • Strive to provide high support to match our high expectations for learning and peer relationships.
  • Be mindful of assigning homework, major projects, and tests during holidays.

• Acknowledge the different cultures within our school communities by affirming their presence.
• Ask questions to learn more about each other's cultures.
• Challenge yourself to grow your own cultural competence.
• Understand that some religious holidays may require fasting, so continue to be understanding and supportive of each other.

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.