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For the past four months, over 40 students at St. Mary’s Academy have been preparing for a month-long celebration to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday and remember unsung heroes of the Civil Rights Movement. Beginning with an assembly in January, the celebration will culminate with a presentation from the Uganda Children’s Choir in February.
Emmett Till, Melba Beals, the Children’s March, and the Freedom Riders are not usual names that spring to mind when celebrating Dr. King Jr.’s birthday, but St. Mary’s will remember each of those people with its “Warriors Arise!” celebratory assembly. Mahtab Thomas, a character education and diversity trainer, has been working with the students as a consultant for the program to honor all those who have worked toward unity and justice. The multi-media performance includes step dance and tap routines, songs of tribute, media clips, and narration.
During the month-long awareness celebration, movies that depict the Children’s March and the struggle of Rosa Parks will be shown for students at lunch, inspirational quotes will be posted around the building, and each student will sign a pledge card to personalize the fight toward unity. Each pledge will encourage students to make eradicating prejudice an immediate and chief concern in their lives by identifying “Sustained”, “Audacious”, and “Sincere” behaviors that they can focus on in the various phases of their lives.
“Throughout the year, in curriculum and activity planning, St. Mary's faculty and staff work to keep cultural awareness and diversity as an integral focus,” says Alena Kelly, Assistant Principal of Academics. “Classroom discussions, projects and presentations are often aimed at keeping students aware of current issues of social justice and equality. As evidenced by our Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday celebration, exploring these concerns and developing avenues for students to appreciate and participate in making change is a valuable component of a St. Mary’s education.”
Founded in 1859 by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, St. Mary’s Academy of Portland, is Oregon’s oldest continuously operating secondary school and one of 716 all-female schools in the country. The student body represents a diverse background of young women from over 30 urban, suburban, and rural communities in Oregon and Southwest Washington. St. Mary’s Academy is distinguished by its development of the whole person, and is the only school in the state to receive three U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon Schools awards.
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