Dear families,

I look forward to celebrating Spirit Week at OA next week with you! Please see the link in the newsletter for each day's theme. The purpose of our school spirit week is to create joy, school unity, and pride in being part of a community that deeply believes in its values:

• Act with integrity

• Behave with compassion

• Lead by example

• Think globally

I am proud to represent these values and to add one more this year. In Lak’ech, a poem built on Mayan tradition, was a core invocation in my classroom as a teacher, and at many Dual Language schools across the country: "You are my other self. If I harm you, I harm myself. If I love and respect you, I love and respect myself." In our school, we aim to recognize our common humanity and interdependence. We share a space where 19 languages, various nationalities, and every neighborhood in the city are represented. Our differences are mission-critical in our education and prepare us to live with kindness, perspective-taking compassion, and responsibility in the world outside these walls. In the days leading up the elections, I want our students to hold on to our common identity as OA Tigers. Someday when they become global leaders, I hope that their experience in our community shapes their vision and sense of possibility for a more just world.

Image: A celebration of identity in the 1st grade mini museos!

This will be a contentious time for our country. As a public school and employees of DCPS, we have the obligation to keep our focus on school learning and to create a safe space for everyone. We will not participate in partisan speech or activity. We focus on our identity as members of a multilingual, multiracial, and multicultural family, grounded in common norms and values. Every team member is committed to doing whatever it takes to make our children feel unapologetically embraced, seen, and protected. We are committed to this before and after the elections, and every day.

In that spirit of taking our OA values and community out into the world, I invite you to celebrate one of our Tigers at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Tomorrow at 11:30 am, Mr. Salvador will be giving a free concert with his band Sol y Rumba to celebrate the Day of the Dead! Reserve your tickets here. I hope to see our school families at the celebration with me.

In solidarity,

Carolina Brito, Principal