In this issue, as we wrap up the year with many joyous celebrations, we bring you 10 things that we are loving right now! |
A Lower School mural from Ms. Hines classroom, depicting many challenges and concerns facing our world today. |
Ten Things We Are Loving...Right Now! |
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| #1 - Kindergarten Variety Show |
Seriously, who doesn’t smile watching the kindergarten class show off their talents and joy to their families, faculty, Lower School friends and Middle and Upper School students who came in to provide support!
From dancing to tumbling to karate to trumpet playing, and everything in between...including a guided meditation... the smiles were contagious! |
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#2 - MS Social Justice Expo |
This spring, 7th grade teachers collaborated on the curriculum, with students reading Just Mercy in English, learning about civil rights and watching parts of the documentary "13th" in History and finding data and making projections in Math. The work culminated in a project students chose on a social justice topic they deeply researched and could take action on. According to Maddy Richards, 7th Grade History teacher, the students "presented their research and data findings, along with an expressive element such as a poem, poster, painting, song, op-ed, etc.," in the evening Expo.
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The Admissions Office in conjunction with the Office of DEI and our Family Affinity Groups held a "Welcome+ A Night for All of Us" event in May for new HRS families. The purpose was to illuminate the DEI pathways for new parents to explore in our community. The various groups host events throughout the year, such as this tie-dye party hosted by the Gender and Sexuality Diversity Network (GSDN). If you are a current or new family interested in signing up for one or more Affinity Groups please complete this form.
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| #4 - Stole Ceremony for Black and Latinx Alum |
On June 3rd, the Black Alumni Affinity Group and the Hispanic Latinx Alumni Affinity Group co-hosted a stole presentation ceremony and lunch for the Class of 2022. Started last year by the Black Alumni Affinity Group, this event officially welcomes our Black and Latinx seniors into their alumni affinity groups. | |
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Four Head-Royce students are being showcased in the 2021-2022 Global Online Academy (GOA) Catalyst Exposition. Each student presented a thought-provoking question and in-depth research backing it up. These projects—which focused on issues related to discrimination and gender bias in the healthcare system, how to ensure neurodiverse children are valued in classrooms and the regulation of women's reproductive health—were nominated and were among the 20 out of 500 projects selected for their ability to make a great impact and catalyze positive change. Congrats to Margit C., Ainsley H., Kali O. and Akhil P., all from the Class of '24 on their outstanding submissions.
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In Morgan Guzman’s “Living History, Empowering Voices” seminar students learned how oral history creates pathways for empathy and justice by studying those who have been relegated to the margins of history and opening themselves to their experiences, listening to their stories, and honoring their voices. As part of their final project, they shared insights from their own interviews and research in an interactive display, some of which were devoted to the interviews they conducted with loved ones or people who inspired them. The hope is that one will find many opportunities to pause, engage and honor the lives of these individuals.
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#7 - Drag Queen Story Hour |
To celebrate Pride Month in June, the LS hosted a Pride Assembly sponsored by students from the US Gender Sexuality & Diversity (GSD) group and representatives from the Parents Association’s GSD Network and PerSia from Drag Queen Story Hour. Teachers were given background information and teaching resources from the GSDN. This assembly was a good example of how we honor the Head-Royce mission statement in which we strive to be an inclusive school community where all community members feel seen, heard and valued.
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| #8 - End of Year BIPoC Gathering |
On May 31st members of the BIPOC PC Community came together for an end of year gathering at 7th West. Acknowledging our new BIPOC PC members as well as saying farewell to those who are departing The Office of Equity and Inclusion hosts these gatherings at least 3 times a year to create a space to foster community. |
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Emily Miller’s 7th and 8th grade art classes had their artwork on display in the halls of the MS. inspired by the series Shoes of Memory: Holocaust Ceramics of Jenny Stolzenberg, whose work includes hand-sculpted ceramic shoes as memorials to Holocaust victims. In the spirit of honoring those who have passed away, each student chose a specific person to memorialize. In their research, the artists found shoes that were symbolic of the person themselves, often choosing an actual shoe they were seen wearing in a photograph, or a shoe appropriate to the time period when they were alive.
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Writer and journalist Jeff Yang met with US and MS students on May 10 for a great assembly celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. His latest book, "RISE: A Pop History of Asian America from the Nineties to Now," which he co-authored with Phil Yu and Philip Wang, is a New York Times best seller and a love letter to and for Asian Americans—a vivid scrapbook of voices, emotions and memories from an era in which our culture was forged and transformed, and a way to preserve both the headlines and the intimate conversations that have shaped our community into who we are today.
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BONUS!! Umoja Award Winner |
Kora Shin, US college counselor, member of the EI Council and advisor to the Upper School GSD was this year’s recipient of the Umoja Award for Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Here’s a quick video of Kora’s impromptu acceptance speech. Congratulations Kora! | | |
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Introducing the 2022-23 DEI Team |
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Interim Director of Equity and Inclusion |
| Equity and Inclusion Coordinator |
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Lower School Dean of Equity and Inclusion |
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Middle School Dean of Equity and Inclusion |
| Upper School Dean of Equity and Inclusion |
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Two years ago, we committed to a 10-point DEI Action Plan to act as a roadmap for our related efforts at Head-Royce. This infographic shares our progress against the plan over the past two years. |
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Instead of books, pods and screens, in this issue we share an inspiring playlist, contributed by various members of the Head-Royce community. - Stand Up by Cynthia Erivo – contributed by Liz Solis, Interim US Dean of Faculty
- Keep on Pushing by Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions – contributed by Eric Taylor, MS History
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Mary Don't You Weep by Aretha Franklin – contributed by Roz Fleury, Operations Manager
- Nothing Even Matters by Lauryn Hill – contributed by Ian Walters, MS History and Science
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Calma by Pedro Capó, Alicia Keys and Farruko – contributed by Luz Diaz, US World Language
- Far From Finished by Voice – contributed by Johára Tucker, Director of E&I
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Blessed by Wizkid featuring Damien Marley – contributed by Iyobosa E. '23
- Optimistic by Sounds of Blackness – contributed by Tamisha Williams, LS Consultant
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Good Time by Ranky Tanky - contributed by Priscilla Hine, 3rd Grade Teacher
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A Word from Johára Tucker, Director of E&I: |
I want to share a note of appreciation to each of you for showing up every day and helping our students navigate moments of discomfort and unease against the backdrop of a world undone. The senseless and horrific murders in Buffalo, NY, Laguna Woods, CA and Uvalde, TX have rocked our communities and made us wonder when it will end.
Like adults, our learners have already experienced the challenges, the hatred, the violence and the sense of helplessness that can pervade our sensibilities at a time like this. What can we do? What can be done? It's all too, too much.
I am full of hope and trust that we will, each in our own way and also with others, find our voices and also our agency to dismantle the hatred and the violence. We will do so in our choices, in brief moments and in long strides, in whispers and in shouts. But sometimes what we can do is exactly what we are doing: showing up, bearing witness, holding space. As I reflect on my three years at Head-Royce, I can't help but to think about just how many hits our world has taken. It's been quite the journey, and I think you for being there for our students and for one another. New chapters and challenges await all of us and I am confident that we'll rise to the occasion. Be well, |
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