By: Nicole Egli, STS Teacher
As many of you may know, February is Black History Month! This month is all about recognizing, amplifying, and celebrating Black voices both in the past and the present.
Three Grade 11 students, Bolu K. ’23, Anaya T. ’23, and Tanusri B. ’23, have created a working group to share some of the messages and themes of Black History Month with the school community.
One way to celebrate Black History Month is by educating ourselves and others about the beautiful history of Black individuals. To get the STS community involved, the group created a scavenger hunt to encourage the student body to dive deeper into Black History. 16 posters were placed throughout the Middle and Senior Schools, celebrating historical Black figures who were influential in creating change but were not recognized in their time. By gathering all the letters from the posters (in the order guided by the clues), students will create a 16-letter word. Students then use the Black History Month Scavenger Hunt Google Form to type out the 16-letter word, followed by a short-written reflection about what that word means to them. During the week-long break, Bolu, Tanusri, and Anaya will read all of the responses and choose a winner who will receive an amazing prize well worth their hard work!
Another way to educate the community is by reading! This month, the theme in the Peter B. Ditchburn Library is “Pathways to Changemakers”. Mr. Kassam and Ms. Reid helped to organize and display amazing books by Black authors throughout the library, including brochures on the tables with Black author profiles. Bolu, Tanusri and Anaya created a large display at the back of the library featuring flags representing African countries, as well as the empowering message “Recognize Black Voices”. Black History Month is all about recognizing, amplifying, and celebrating Black voices. With a break coming up, now is the perfect time to read some authors you may not have considered before!
