EJR had an amazing February, celebrating Black History Month and learning about influential and successful Black Americans.

 

 

Fifth-graders learned all about Oprah Winfrey – show host, television producer, actress, author, and media mogul. They gathered information about her and shared it with second grade students. Students in Sean Blessing, Katie Yowell and Heather Stella’s classes created video slideshows and shared them with students in second grade. Other second-graders walked down to the fifth-grade hall and learned about Oprah via a presentation from students in Cheryl Riccardi’s class

 

Third-graders delved into the life of 11-time Olympic medalist Simone Biles, considered to be the greatest gymnast of all time. They shared their information with pre-K students and even assisted with a craft – making gold medals!

 

 

Some pre-K students learned about Garrett Morgan, the man who invented a new kind of traffic signal, one with a light warning motorists they would need to stop soon. It was the first version of our three-way traffic light. Mr. Morgan was a prolific inventor throughout his life.

 

 

Others learned about Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman in space! Ms. Jemison was also a medical doctor and an officer in the Peace Corps.

 

Throughout the building, Black History Month was evident. There was a colorful ‘quilt’ made by second graders, with photos and quotes of famous Black Americans. Cut outs of Jackie Robinson, the man who broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball, hung along a hall, along with bulletin boards of Black heroes, like Ruby Bridges, Katherine Johnson, Maya Angelou, Barack Obama, Rosa Parks, Thurgood Marshall and others. The board included information about each of its subjects.

 

 

Black History Month reminds all of our students of a quote from Dr. Mae Jemison: “Never be limited by other people’s imaginations.”