Glen Grove Community Project

We started a journey last year to bring the Gator Community together through the Glen Grove Community Project, which is a growing collection of traditions and experiences as told by the Glen Grove students, families, and staff. We are so lucky to have a growing diverse community and this needs to be shared, highlighted, and appreciated.

This year, our goal is to continue this journey. Our Community Project site, while already housing a wealth of information collected from the 2021-2022 school year, is a dynamic space. We will continue to add more resources, more opportunities for student input, and maybe even transition to spaces that will allow for further growth.

Here are some other things to look forward to:

1. We will be sending newsletters monthly to highlight upcoming holidays and traditions! (See the ones happening in August and September!)
2. We will be sharing plans for upcoming opportunities for participation (i.e., setting up an ofrenda for Dia de Los Muertos, artifacts from various holidays of light, etc.)
3. We hope to share discussion questions to guide conversations in the classroom.

We look forward to going on this journey with you! As always, all are welcome to share their traditions with us! If you would like to participate, please print a copy of the interest form to submit.

~ The Glen Grove Community Project Team

Answer this question in the google form and the votes will be revealed in our next newsletter!

To learn more about the legend of Chang'e, which is important to the lore of the Mid-Autumn Festival, watch Over the Moon (Netflix). It's a story about a young girl's dream to reach the moon and on her journey, she enters a fantastical world and meets the goddess of the moon herself.

Rated PG

By. Ms. Joaquin

A few years ago, a student told me that my name was a "God-tier" level obstacle in speech class.

"Aurora" has two /r/ sounds and "Joaquin" may look like it's pronounced with a hard "j" sound, but it's not (it's more like a /w/ sound). Yet, I appreciated that the student tried their hardest to learn my name and that was because they cared about the relationship we were growing as teacher and student.

Names are important.

They can tell you a lot about a person's family, their culture, or even things that are important to them.

I'm named after my late grandmother Aurora, who just passed away last May. She and I were born talkers - we could hold a conversation for 6 hours straight without stopping. She loved parties, spending time with her friends, and showing people she cared through gifts - a few traits that I inherited from her as well.

Joaquin is a last name that can be traced back to the early days of Spanish colonization in the Philippines, when many Chinese merchants were registered under Spanish last names as part of a census. Many people with the last name Joaquin can trace their name to a city called Bulacan in the Philippines and because of that, I'm distantly related to a famous writer named Nick Joaquin.

My name is part of my story as an individual.

I know it can be embarrassing to be corrected or to correct someone if a name is mispronounced. I have been both the one correcting and the one being corrected; I get it. No one wants to feel wrong or foolish.

However, just like my student, I believe that we are calling people into our lives and grow relationships with them when we take the time to learn people's names. It may take a few tries, but every try is proof that we care for the person.

Whether your name is Timothee Chalamet, Beyonce, Idina Menzel, or even Aurora Joaquin... your name is your story. It is meant to be shared and valued.

What are some special ways that you or your family prepare for the upcoming school year?

Email: GGCommunityProject@gmail.com