The Patrick Henry Post

While February is definitely a month of love with Valentine's Day, it is also a month of love as we recognize Black History Month! It is interesting to think about the connection between the two events - Valentine's Day is a day when we recognize those we love the most and who love us the most, and Black History Month is a month when we recognize those we honor and respect for coming before us, surviving and thriving in a world that did not always honor and respect them, and pushing for change to make the world a better place for the black experience. In our dark and challenging American history, we know that famous black figures were hated, mistreated, harassed, hurt, and killed for the color of their skin. We know that average black people - not famous in any way, and not public figures - were also hated, mistreated, harassed, hurt, and killed for the color of their skin. We also know there is still hatred in our country based purely on what people look like, and it comes with intense discrimination. As we consider our celebrations of Valentine's Day in the middle of Black History Month, we must think about how we try and counter our negative racial history and narrative about our black citizens - how can we promote self-love and self-care for our students as they learn about our dark and difficult past, and as they make connections to their own experiences that have been negative? A few resources to share with your child are listed below, but the most important thing we can do to promote love of self is to build relationships with our children and keep the discussion open so that they feel comfortable sharing when they have a good or bad experience, and so that they can ask questions and explore on their own.

Resources for Promoting Self-Love and Self-Care

• Article for Teachers and Parents: Reflecting on February Narratives of Valentine's Day and Black History Month (https://www.annehberry.com/blog/2013/02/reflecting-on-february-narratives-valentines-day-and-black-history-month)
• Article for Teachers and Parents: Celebrating Black Love Day (https://www.tallahassee.com/story/life/faith/2021/02/12/february-packs-history-valentines-day-and-black-love-day/6725886002/)
• Article for Teachers and Parents: Black Love Day (https://www.binnews.com/content/2021-02-04-black-love-day-embracing-everything-black-ahead-of-valentines-day/)
• See book suggestions below

Take a look below at the incredible number of events happening all around SLPS this month! Nearly every event can be accessed online, so I highly encourage you to see what other schools are doing with their students to recognize, celebrate, and honor Black History Month!

• Patrick Henry's Black History Month Talent Show: February 25th, 1:00-2:30pm, access the live performance on Patrick Henry's website
• Carnahan's Black Fridays: Every Friday, see a presentation by a student or staff member about Black History. Access the presentations on Carnahan's main webpage.
• Central Visual and Performing Arts Jazz Band: February 10th, 12:30pm, access the performance recording on Central VPA's website
• Central Visual and Performing Arts Dance Performance: February 24th, 12:30pm, access the performance recording on Central VPA's website
• Gateway STEM's Black History Month Celebration: February 25th, 1:00pm, access the live performance on Gateway's website
• Nance Elementary's Black History Month Virtual Program: March 4th, access their cumulative recording of all performances on Nance's website
• Mullanphy Elementary's Honoring the Past & Inspiring the Future: February 28th, access the performances all day by grade level on Mullanphy's website
• Monroe Elementary's Black History Month Virtual Program: February 25th, access all performances all day on Monroe's website
• Hodgen Tech Academy's Black History Month Celebration: February 25th, access all performances all day on Hodgen's website

This week, we had our first real snow of the year, and St. Louis almost shut down completely! Despite the falling temperatures and the falling snow, SLPS students were still learning! We pivoted to virtual teaching and enjoyed seeing our students in their own homes, still engaged in educational activities and still excited to see their teachers. Take a look for some of the home offices that we set up...and take a look at the unusual colleagues who got to come to work with our staff!

This week, we also had the opportunity to learn in school at Patrick Henry. Take a look for a few highlights throughout the building before our snow days took us home!

Mrs. Ralphs began her jump rope unit this month to focus on heart health. Students are challenged to jump rope for 1, 2, and 3 minute challenges. If students can sustain their jump roping for that long, they get to put their name on the board and get a bracelet of recognition! Our youngest students get to be in the "Kangaroo Club." Pictured below you can see how well Ms. Versen's students did in the challenge!

Ms. Versen's DonorsChoose projects have been assembled and students are reaping the benefits of Ms. Versen's hard work and donors' generosity! Take a look at some of the creative and fun places students get to sit in this flexible classroom!

Preschoolers in Ms. Smith and Ms. Munnelly's classroom this week got to practice the sense of listening. Ms. Munnelly had a special puppy dog that was hidden throughout the room that barked to let students know when they were close to finding it while Ms. Smith played several instruments for students to experience. Students had so much fun using their listening ears!

Students in Mr. Farmer's room continued their work in Speech Club. Damiya was able to earn points in her hoops while Jayden worked with assistive technology. It was awesome to see their hard work paying off in communication gains!

All of our amazing staff members teach black history throughout our entire school year because black history IS American history! Though we officially recognize Black History Month in February, we know that black history must be taught throughout the year - researching, honoring, and celebrating our past to inspire our future!