Dear Oyster-Adams Families,

At Oyster-Adams, we have been preparing for Black History Month in February and celebrating Dr. King's legacy. Celebrating the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement feels especially important this weekend, so that we can teach our children that "the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice” (Dr. King, 1968 at the National Cathedral). Regardless of who is in power, we as OA Tigers are bound by our school values to Act with Integrity, Live Graciously, Lead by Example, and Think Globally. Here are the some ways in which our community has done that this week:

Think Globally: Ms. Jackson led our 4th and 5th Graders in building their bilingual bulletin board to celebrate pivotal moments in Dr. King's life. It was beautiful to see "tengo un sueño" right along side "I have a dream." In Ms. Suarez's 6th grade class, they connected the impact of the Civil Rights movement on the Cesar Chavez's boycott and fight for migrant agrarian rights--thus highlighting the necessity for Black and Brown solidarity in our nation's history. And at Oyster, Ms. Kleinmann read about the life of Dr. King with every class this week, ensuring that we all carry his intellectual and moral legacy in our hearts this week.

Act with Integrity: On Friday during staff PD Day, the whole faculty and staff read an excerpt from "Young, Gifted, and Black" by Dr. Theresa Perry, Professor of Africana Studies and Education. Dr. Perry's words pushed us to consider what it takes to build a counterhegemonic school culture, built to support the truth about all our communities of color--that we are brilliant, built on solidarity, and collective resilience. Faculty then spent the afternoon with their team leads to build curriculum and upcoming lessons to support that counternarrative that we want to see in our community.

Lead by Example: This week, we are proud to announce that Jan Schuettpelz, our 6th Grade Science teacher, has officially won the NSF's Prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching for the District of Columbia. Check out the official letter below! Please join us in congratulating her for her contributions to OA both in and out of the classroom, as a Debate Coach, HER Initiative Club leader, and now as an NSF winner!

Next week, we'll also highlight all of the incredible preparations that Ms. Janssens and Sr. Salvador have been doing to study Black Artists and preparing the Black History Month Concert at Oyster!

Un abrazo fuerte,

Carolina Brito