In honor of Black History month EHB participated in a reading of the book Your Name Is A Song by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow.
This book highlights the uniqueness and diversity of our names as well as the importance of understanding their meaning and how we got them. One of Cresskill’s strengths is the diversity of our school community, this book highlights and celebrates those differences. Each class was given a book to make a permanent fixture in their classroom library. The class read the book and then were given musical notes where they could write their name and decorate them to create a beautiful picture.
The students were encouraged to go home to talk with their family about the origin of their name. One teacher shared that a student said his mom told him he is such a gift to her that his name means present in Hebrew. Other students were proud to learn that they were named after a grandmother or grandfather, and felt the honor of carrying on their family name.
These notes were hung on a large display in the hallway, so that everyone can see how each of our names create not only a song but a symphony when we come together as a school.
In addition, to celebrate the leadership and vision that Martin Luther King had for the future, EHB students were able to contribute to our “I Have A Dream” mural. The students were able to think about a dream that they have for themselves and add it to our wall of dreams.
Both of these activities highlight our students’ uniqueness, but also the importance of finding strength and beauty in our differences.