How Did Your Kid's School Celebrate MLK Day?

Principals of Chatham schools submitted summaries of their activities in celebrataion of Martin Luther King Day this week.

After a lengthy discussion by board members and parents, the to help make up school days lost after school was canceled for a full week at the end of October, thanks to a .

Interim Superintendent Dennis Fyffe wrote a letter to district parents, attached to this article, stating that all district schools "will provide meaningful activities to recognize the accomplishments and contributions of Dr. King."

According to information provided by the district, each school held their own observations of the holiday:

• The Acceptance Initiative at read an exerpt of King's "I Have a Dream" speech in 12 languages. They also created a banner for the cafeteria, with participation from students and teachers, with "their dreams for acceptance at Chatham High School, their community or the world" written on it. The Acceptance Initiative also posed a quote by King for students to contemplate:

"People fail to get along because they fear eahc other; they fear each other beacuse they don't know each other; they don't know each other because they have not communicated with each other."

• had common activities at each grade level to learn about King, especially his "I Have a Dream" speech. They also studied the role of Rosa Parks in the civil rights movement. Quotes from King were displayed in the school halls and the cafeteria, and Principal Robert Accardi gave opening remarks and led the school in a homeroom viewing of a photostory on King.
• Cheryl Caggiano, the principal of , said a school-wide morning assembly was moved indoors due to the weather. "We recognized the significant of the day and students were picked to read a series of Martin Luther King, Jr. quotes before the students went to class," Caggiano said. Students read and examined two books in their social studies and English language arts classes, "My Brother Martin" by Christine King Farris and "Goin' Someplace Special" by Patricia C. McKissack and Jerry Pinkney.
• Students at had classroom posters on display and read several books and poems, including "Martin Luther King" by David Adler, "The Color of Us" and "On Martin Luther King Day". They also designed a collage with the theme "Different colored hands, same colored heart." The school also had interactive activities on King, Parks and Ruby Bridges, the first African American girl to attend an all-white school in the south in 1960. The school also viewed a Brain Pop Jr. video on King. Second graders created a "Dream Mobile," which, according to documentation provided by the district, "reflect[ed] on the dream Dr. King had for our country."
• At , students sang a song and recited a Peace Pledge at the school-wide assembly. Teachers taught different books about King to their classes, and each grade level had a shared activity. Kindergarteners made "Friendship Flowers [which] emphasize working together and supporting one another," according to an email from Principal Marion McCarthy. First graders made a book entitled "Kids are Like Snowflakes, No Two Are Alike," focusing on "our differences that make us unique." Second graders studied King through a Reader's Theater script, and third graders had an interactive activity to help them learn about fair and unfair situations in life.
• students had grade-specific activities. Kindergarteners learned about King's life through stories and video, and played a "Descrimination Game" that simulated unequal treatment. Students in the first grade read several books on King, made nechlaces and take-home booklets on King and learned to recite a poem for the rest of the school. Second grade students created a picture timeline of King's life, read two books and did a character study on King, created a mini-book to take home to their families and wrote an assignment on what they learned about King. Students in the third grade did an intense rotation study on King's life and wrote their own version of an "I Have a Dream" speech.

Board members said though they were reluctant to have school on the holiday, but state regulations required them to find days to make up. "Everyone was reluctant to touch MLK Day," Board President Tom Belding said via email. "One advantage of the decision made is that it allows somewhat more flexibility if the winter is rough and more days must then be taken out of vacations later in the year."

Fyffe assured parents the holiday will be observed by the district in "all subsequent calendars."