SOCIAL JUSTICE
Upper Division Director Christine Karamanoglou said that Blue Cluster students begin their social justice curriculum by building empathy in advisory, literature, and history. The students work on projects such as a newscast that portrays different sides of the Revolutionary War, learning about different character traits, and working on service learning projects that give back to the community. Ms. Karamanoglou said, “We really ask students to look at things from different perspectives.”
UPPER Division
Jackie Smith’s Blue Cluster advisory class showed empathy when they learned about Indigenous communities and the violence they faced from the European explorer Christopher Columbus. After researching the history of Columbus Day, as well as what other states have done to create change, the group of four students created a petition to rename Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day on the Gaynor calendar. The students presented this information to the Blue Cluster during their Town Hall, as well as to all Silver and Green Cluster classes, giving a total of eight presentations. In the presentation the students said, “We want to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day, because the Native Americans were tortured by Christopher Columbus and his troops. The Native Americans should have been treated better. We should learn the truth, because he and his troops abused them, killed them, and enslaved them.” After gaining more than 125 signatures from fellow students supporting the name change, Room 510 presented the petition to Head of School Dr. Scott Gaynor, who agreed to change the name for the upcoming 2020/2021 calendar. Dr. Gaynor told the students, “This is really a reflection of the power all of you have to make change.” Ms. Smith continued the sentiment and said, “What I hope they took away from this experience is that even though they’re young, they can make big changes. If you persevere and are passionate, you can do anything.” WINTER 2020 27