Hatboro-Horsham School District
Dear Hatters,
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.
NEW YEAR'S DAY - January 1, 2025
- New Year's Day is the first day of the year. New Year's is one of the most celebrated public holidays in the world, often observed with fireworks at the stroke of midnight. Another tradition includes setting new goals by making New Year's resolutions. Happy New Year!
- THREE KINGS DAY - January 6, 2025
- Three Kings Day is a holiday celebrated at the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas. This holiday is celebrated as the day the three wise men first saw baby Jesus and brought him gifts.
ORTHODOX CHRISTMAS DAY - January 7, 2025
- Orthodox Christian's celebrate Christmas according to the Gregorian calendar (December 25th works for the Julian calendar). This is a religious and cultural celebration.
ORTHODOX NEW YEAR - January 14, 2025
- An informal traditional holiday celebrated as the start of the new year according to the Gregorian calendar.
MAHAYANA NEW YEAR - January 14, 2025
- Celebrated this year on January 14th by Buddhists around the world. The celebration is a joyous occasion, but also one of self-awareness and reflection and becoming an improved version in the new year. The New Year is observed by prayers, spiritual songs and a feast with family and friends.
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY - January 20, 2025
- A federal holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and is observed on the third Monday of January. His actual birthday is January 15, 1929. MLK Day is the only federal holiday designated as a National Day of Service to encourage all Americans to volunteer to improve their communities.
- INAUGURATION DAY - January 20, 2025
- Occurs once every fours years on January 20. The new terms of office of the president and vice-president begin at noon in Washington DC. The swearing-in ceremony takes place at the U.S. Capitol and is usually followed by a parade along Pennsylvania Avenue. This year, Donald J. Trump will be sworn in as the 47th President.
INTERNATIONAL HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY - January 27, 2025
- The United Nations General Assembly has designated this day as the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and pays tribute to the memory of all the victims of the Holocaust.
- LUNAR NEW YEAR - January 29, 2025
- Also known as the Spring Festival or Chinese New Year. It marks the first day of the New Year in the Chinese calendar. 2025 will mark the year of the Snake in Chinese zodiac.
To our Hatters families, we hope that you have a memorable holiday season with your family and loved ones.
Previous Month's Newsletters:
Be kind to yourself
- Invest in your interests
- Honor your dreams
- Take time for yourself
- Be patient with yourself
Kindness Challenge
For the month, try to do something kind for a different person each day, and then challenge that person to pay it forward.
Fostering a Restorative Culture and Community:
- Acknowledge the different cultures within our school communities by affirming their presence.
- Provide access to visuals, resources, and recognizing 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
Ways to Promote Growth:
- 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.
We are stronger together!
Community Connection:
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.
