Marietta City Schools Fall 2016 Cultural Diversity Newsletter

M A R I E T TA C I T Y SCHOOLS District Diversity Coordinator:

Cultural Diversity Newsletter

Preston Howard

2 0 1 6 - 2 0 1 7 School Diversity Coordinators: ALB: Wendy Campagna

S C H O O L

Celebrating Diversity Dunleith Elementary

DL: Tiffany Moody

kicked off with National Hispanic Heritage month. Dunleith showed their pride by displaying our diversity with a bulletin board covered with a multi-colored background, entitled “Celebrating Hispanic

HH: Kim Littlejohn LK: Elaine Hinton PS: Logii Pinion SR: Jennifer Madrigal WS: Natalie Payton MCAA: Susie Throop MSGA: Kerbie Campbell MMS: Mary Thurman MHS: Gregory Taylor INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Dunleith: Celebrating Diversity

1

MCAA Coffee Talks

2

Taking a Look at MSGA

2

Intercultural Experi- 3 ences at MMS MMS Hispanic Herit- 3 age Month MMS Robotics Team 3 MMS Water Tower

4

MMS Earth Ambassadors

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MMS Field Trips

4

Y E A R

Heritage 2016”.

Vibrant poster - sized pictures representing many aspects of Hispanic culture hung throughout halls, and in the cafeteria. The students enjoyed passing through the halls and identifying their native countries”!

Our daily announcements, Dolphin News Network (DNN) also

included fun facts, trivia, videos and literature books related to Hispanic Heritage Month. A Wax Museum of important historical Hispanic icons were presented during lunch periods.

Students researched famous and influential Hispanic Americans and the great contributions they have made to our society.

Dunleith presented a Hispanic Heritage Fashion Show in which both students and par-

ents displayed their Hispanic culture attire. Several countries like Mexico, El Salvador, and Peru were represented. The students presented flags

N O V E M B E R

2 0 1 6

By: Tiffany Moody

and important facts about Hispanic countries during the fashion show. Last, Dunleith went out with a bang by having a Hispanic Heritage Month Dance!

Families brought in delicious authentic Hispanic dishes for us all to enjoy and share. What a wonderful and fun-filled Hispanic Heritage Month celebrated at Dunleith!

2016-2017

SCHOOL

YEAR

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MCAA Coffee Talk This school year has taken off to great start.

September was Hispanic Heritage month and MCAA’s Spanish and Portuguese families hosted the annual Hispanic Family Picnic. Invited were teachers, staff and community members.

Every month MCAA

hosts a “Coffee Talk” with the school counselor, John Creger and the bi-lingual paraprofessional Diana Eraydin. Topics range from: “how to be an active volunteer at school”, “how I can help my child succeed in school”, “breaking the language barrier”, “basic computer skills” and “the education system in the United States, steps

to High School Graduation and College”. Each talk includes guest speakers from the community.

Taking a Look at MSGA Marietta Sixth Grade Academy is committed to

bringing cultural awareness to our school community through a variety of experiences throughout the 2016-2017 school year. The Cultural Diversity Club will be working together in this effort.

Initial Club Meetings During our initial club meetings, students were prompted to answer questions such as “When you think about diversity, what do you think of?”, “List all of the things that make you diverse.”, “What countries have you visited.”, and “List all the

languages that you speak”.

Fundraising and Care Packages Students will discuss and develop a plan for fundraising ideas. One idea that teachers and students have discussed is the creation of t-shirts. The tshirts will display messages of cultural diversity and will be sold to raise funds for care packages that will go to families in need.

Poems and Shorts Students will spend time in the Cultural Diversity Club planning and writing for a future performance

By: Diana Eraydin

By: Kerbie Campbell

in the talent show and on the morning news. Performances will be geared to raise awareness for cultural diversity. Below is the writing sample from one of our students,

We Are Different By: Alexandra Covarrubias I’m different You’re different We are all different Something in common we have Is that we are different We shouldn’t judge one another We are all different

Intercultural Experiences at MMS

By: Mary Thurman

As part of the IB Middle Years Programme, MarieƩa Middle School is commiƩed to “developing inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a beƩer and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.”

MMS students have parƟcipated in several learning experiences this semester which helped them to gain a greater understanding of the world in which they live.

Hispanic Heritage Month

As part of Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations, students have researched

different contributions made by Hispanic Americans and made posters to display throughout the school. They have also shared important bits of information during afternoon announcements.

Students also had the opportunity to wear their

jerseys/t-shirts supporting teams/countries from Latin America and Spain.

Robotics Team The MMS Robotics team welcomed two visitors from our sponsor, German company PlusOptix. The visitors were from Germany and South America. Students had an opportunity to interact with the visitors and ask questions. They challenged our students to design and develop a robot which will display their products.

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Water Tower Challenge MMS Magnet STEM students have been working on the Marietta Water Tower Competition. Students were tasked with designing and constructing a working wa-

ter tower. Marietta Middle School took first place again Cooper Middle School as well as recognition in the following areas: Most artistic design, Structural Excel-

lence, Engineering Design, Cost Effectiveness, and Outstanding Presentation.

Earth Ambassadors

Over sixty students, including students from Ms. Donlin,

Ms. Field, and Ms. Strickland’s adaptive classes, are active Earth Ambassadors.

Each Monday and Friday students collect fruit and vegeta-

bles from breakfast and lunch that can be composted. Students maintain the compost which will be used as fertilizer for the school garden.

Cultural Field Trips Students have had the opportunity to parƟcipate in several field trips this year. Seventh and eighth grade art students visited the High Museum of Art. Students parƟcipated in a docent lead tour of the “Fever Within: The Art of Ronald LockeƩ” exhibit where they were given a glimpse of the short, but mean-

ingful life of Ronald LockeƩ, an African American arƟst from rural Alabama. Ronald LockeƩ’s artwork is deeply personal and reflects many struggles he faced in his short life. Students explored many of the symbols LockeƩ used to communicate his ideas.

Spanish II and NaƟve Heritage students re-

cently aƩended the NaƟonal Theater’s producƟon of Las Aventuras de Don Quijote.

The bilingual presentaƟon provided students insight into the life and customs of Spain in the 16th century as well as followed the story of Don Quijote, knighterrant, and his comic squire Sancho Panza.