Sacajawea PTA News
The happenings around Sacajawea
Meet Principal Barry Fisk
Dana Robinson Slote, a PTA Board Member and Sac parent, sat down for a quick getting-to-know-you session with Mr. Fisk. Enjoy!
Principal Barry Fisk is replacing Principal Friesen while she’s away, and he started at Sacajawea just a few weeks ago. Although he joined us at our November PTA Board Meeting, we thought that it would be helpful for everyone in our community to hear more about Mr. Fisk from Mr. Fisk himself.
Dana Robinson Slote, a PTA Board Member and Sac parent, sat down for a quick getting-to-know-you session with Mr. Fisk. Enjoy!
Heritage Potluck - Community Cookbook (Deadline 12/16th)
Heritage Potluck Reimagined. Share with the school community your favorite recipe.
Each year the Parent Equity team organizes the Heritage Potluck. This event would usually have been a time when we gathered after school bringing a favorite family recipe to share. We would chat and get to know each other a little better and experience each other's lovely recipes. Gathering is still not allowed so we thought we would try a little something different.
The Parent Equity team would like to put together a community cookbook of your favorite recipes. Your student received a Recipe Sheet before Thanksgiving break. The Recipe Sheet isn't only for a recipe, it could be a shared memory, and a drawing related to a recipe or making of a recipe. The sheet tries to give kids of all ages a way to share a little of themselves and their families with the whole school community. We encourage family participation! If we get enough participation we will then create the cookbook and share it with anyone in the school community that would like one.
If you need a new Recipe Sheet or would like to submit more than one you can download one here:
Once you have completed your Recipe Sheet(s) please give them to your teacher or email them to Lori Phipps at lphipps01@gmail.com. Deadline for submitting a Recipe Sheet is December 16th.
We look forward getting to know you one recipe at a time.
BLM at School Year of Purpose: Day of Action
Sacajawea’s Parent Racial Equity Team is sharing resources with you and your family to take action to support the work of educators to #TeachTruth.
Sacajawea’s Parent Racial Equity Team wants to share resources with you and your family to take action to support the work of educators to #TeachTruth. With the passage of laws in 11 states that require teachers to lie to students about the reality and history of racism in this country, and its ongoing structural inequities, the call to action is urgent. #TeachTruth Day of Action took place on George Floyd’s birthday, Thursday, October 14.
Use the following self-reflection questions from BLM at School to help inspire action:
Is our school a place that believes in the mission of Black community organizing? Do we serve as a place to connect with local families?
How are school-wide policies and practices, especially disciplinary practices, applied across racial categories?
Do problematic patterns emerge when we look at how policies are applied to Black students, and when we consider the intersection of gender, sexual orientation, and (dis)ability with race?
Do our practices erase the histories of our students and prevent them from bringing their whole selves into the learning environment?
How do local or state laws and policies, regulations, and practices harm Black students and families?
What can you do and how can you learn more?
Tell the Seattle School Board why you want your children to be taught authentic U.S. history in school. Learn more about how to give public testimony at School Board and City Council meetings.
Create a poem, drawing or video to share what learning authentic history means to you.
Plan a virtual field trip with your family:
If you have eight minutes, listen to or read Talking to Children About Racial Bias
If you have ten minutes, read What Is Critical Race Theory, and Why is It Under Attack
Dig deeper with these resources and books:
Explore Historical Foundations of Race from the National Museum of African American History of Culture
Listen to Racism -- And Anti-Racism -- In Vermont (48:54 minutes)
BLM at School: Transgender Day of Remembrance
This month we highlighted Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20 by looking at the life of William Dorsey Swann.
This month we highlighted Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20. Versión en Español
Loan T., Student Media Ambassador for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN),* articulates beautifully why this day is so important:
“Transgender Day of Remembrance is really all about remembering to never forget the history and presence of trans* people in our world. And with that, Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) stands as an even larger motivator to embrace the identities we ourselves have and the identities of others. It’s a day for action, for mobilization, for story telling, and for revitalization. But most importantly, TDOR is an opportunity to celebrate the diverse lives of trans* people everywhere. It’s crucial to recognize that trans* people have made great, beautiful strides to transform and challenge society… and what’s even more awesome and admirable is that we keep doing so every single day. We continue to come out, to speak out, to shout out loud that we have hurt and we have lost but that will never prevent us from shouting even louder that we are here and we will continue to exist in the most influential ways—that’s what matters most to me: having a community that I can stand with no matter what.” - GLSEN Student Media Ambassador Loan T.
*GLSEN champions LGBTQ issues in K-12 education. Founded in 1990, this national network of educators, students and local GLSEN Chapters work to ensure every student has a safe, supportive and LGBTQ-inclusive K-12 education. They work to ensure that LGBT students are able to learn and grow in a school environment free from bullying and harassment. Find out more about GLSEN here.
William Dorsey Swann
One relatively unknown person who challenged gender norms of the day was William Dorsey Swann. Born in Maryland in 1860, Swann endured slavery, the Civil War, racism, police surveillance, torture behind bars, and many other injustices. Beginning in the 1880s, he not only became the first American activist to lead a queer resistance group; he also became, the first known person to dub himself a “queen of drag.” It was revolutionaries like him that fought injustice paving the way for generations to follow.
Two Spirit
November is also Native American Heritage Month, and we would like to call attention to the historical and contemporary experience of non-binary and fluid gender identity of Native American people among various tribes across the continent. Though the term Two Spirit itself was adopted in Winnipeg, Canada in 1990 as a positive umbrella term for these identities in different tribes, the historical concept of non-binary and gender fluidity had different names and expressions among unique tribal nations. It traditionally referred to individuals with both feminine and masculine traits, and could be considered a third gender (some tribes recognized more than three genders). These individuals often held unique spiritual and/or societal roles and were respected, if not revered, in the tribe. The term Two Spirit is not necessarily synonymous with Western LGBTQ concepts, though there may be intersections between gender and sexual identity among these identities and terms.
What can you do and how can you learn more?
Talk to your students about the info presented above.
If you have three minutes, read one of the following articles (or all of them!):
Be an Ally - Support Trans Equality
IHS Two Spirit
Eight Things You Should Know About Two Spirit People
If you have five minutes, watch BBC Reel - William Dorsey Swann
If you have six minutes, watch What Does "Two Spirit" Mean?
If you have eleven minutes, listen to the podcast Two Spirit - Changing Our Stories
Dig deeper with these resources and books:
Dig deeper with these resources and books:
THE BASICS: BREAKING THE BINARY, EXPANDING GENDER EXPRESSIVENES
Gender Triangle Education Guide / Trevor Project
Beyond the Binary: A Tool Kit for Gender Identity Activism in Schools
GO DEEPER: Trans Agenda for Liberation via Transgender Law Center
WATCH THE POWERFUL INTRODUCTION
Check out some books from the Seattle Public Library
Social Justice Book lists:
Early Childhood: Learning about Gender Identity Booklist
LGBTQ+ Booklist (all ages!)
Sacajawea Reflections 2021
Sacajawea PTA is offering a Reflections program! This year's theme is "I Will Change The World By…", and all entries must be submitted by November 8.
Does your student love to create? Sacajawea PTA is offering a Reflections program this year! This year's theme is "I Will Change The World By…", and all entries must be new works responding to the theme. We are accepting submissions in six arts categories: Dance Choreography, Film Production, Literature, Music Composition, Photography, and Visual Arts (2D and 3D). Go to the online entry form at tinyurl.com/sacreflect2021 to upload entries by November 8, 2021. Visit scptsa.org/reflections for more information about the program. Questions can be directed to Sac parent Jennifer Sunami at Reflections_Chair@scptsa.org.
Informational Flyer and Rules | en español
Printable Entry Form | en español
Reflections is a National PTA arts recognition program that celebrates student creativity through a juried awards process. Entries are judged and awarded prizes based on creative ability and interpretation of the theme, and advance through city, state, and national levels. Experienced artists will review the work for interpretation of theme, creativity and technique.
SCPTSA will celebrate the artistry and achievement of our students in the arts at this year’s virtual Reflections Celebration on December 12, 2021.
