Crooked Billet students use conversation starter questions at lunch to learn about their classmates. (Source: Hatboro-Horsham School District)
(The following is a press release verbatim from Hatboro-Horsham School District).
At the start of each year, students in Hatboro-Horsham School District celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Acceptance Day by giving back to the community and celebrating classmates’ cultures.
“These lesson plans and initiatives support ‘Welcoming Schools,’ one of the primary pillars of the district’s Comprehensive Plan, to foster belongingness and a supportive environment for every student,” said Dr. Scott Eveslage, Superintendent.
Blair Mill Elementary: Create and Donate Service Projects
Blair Mill Elementary School chose the theme “Create and Donate” for its schoolwide MLK Day of Service. Students spent the day working on grade-level service projects and learning from community programs.
Students made dog and cat blankets and toys for Glad Dog Nation, assembled care bags and handwritten cards for residents at St. Joseph’s Manor, and created care packages and cards for Cradles 2 Crayons.
Blair Mill Elementary also ran a week-long clothing drive and stuffed-animal drive to help the community partners support more people and animals.
Crooked Billet Elementary: Celebrating Differences
To honor students’ similarities and differences for Acceptance Day, Crooked Billet Elementary School chose the theme, “Be Different. Be Brave. Be You!” The day featured a read-aloud of the book “Just Ask” by Sonia Sotomayor. This book celebrates diversity by encouraging students to ask questions about their differences, demonstrating empathy and understanding. Students completed activities based on the book, such as creating a school-wide collaborative poster and used conversation starter questions during lunch.
“We look forward to Acceptance Day each year. It gives us a chance to highlight our diversity, embrace our differences, and grow together as a school community,” said Tami Italia, school counselor. “We laugh, we learn, and we discover new things about each other. It’s simply the best!”
Students also participated in the “More than True” assembly presented by Sarah Osburn Brady, an actress, storyteller, teaching artist and writer. The storytelling adventure let students make decisions and choose their own adventures as they travel through folk and fairy tales.
Hallowell Elementary: Appreciating Culture & Growing Belonging
During Hallowell Elementary School’s Acceptance Week, students began each day with different greetings from around the globe. Videos, images, and trivia questions taught students about differences in cultures, languages and backgrounds, and how those differences should be appreciated and valued.
The Fifth Grade Student Leadership Team led lessons and activities that focused on the importance of friendship and showing kindness towards all.
Classroom teachers also created their own individual lessons. A fourth-grade scavenger hunt in Victoria Rosenbaum’s class allowed students to move around the room and talk about their families, cultures and traditions. Students were encouraged to talk to at least five classmates and write a short reflection, recording one thing they learned about a different culture, two things they related to, and one question they still had. Ultimately, the lesson helped students learn more about each other and feel like they belong.
As a service component, Hallowell Elementary continued its partnership with Souderton Mennonite Homes Health Care Skilled Nursing Unit. Students created cards, posters and wrote personal letters for their residents.
Keith Valley Middle School: Creating Sock Rolls for the Homeless
In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, Keith Valley Middle School’s National Junior Honor Society (NJHJS) partnered with The Giving Tree for the third year in a row.
For its annual Sock Roll, students collected crackers and granola bars, rolling them inside a pair of long socks with a note. This year’s goal was to roll more than 300 socks to help The Giving Tree meet its goal of 25,000 sock rolls that are donated to people experiencing homelessness. Socks are often the most requested item by individuals experiencing homelessness.
According to the organization, “This project brings warmth, some comfort and nourishment for those in need. This is also a wonderful opportunity to teach your students the importance of helping others and ‘giving back’ to our community.”
Simmons Elementary: Fifth Grade Organizes Food Drive
Fifth graders at Simmons Elementary will launch a community food drive in February to support local families in need.
Students collect different items each week to refill community food pantries, including soup, canned fruits and vegetables, and toiletries. The school works together to see how many items students can contribute.
In March, Assistant Principal Dan Beck and the fifth graders will deliver donations to Lehman’s Food Pantry and Hatboro Community Cupboard. Last year, more than 2,500 items were donated.
