International Women’s Day
In March, Aaron Upper School celebrated International Women’s Day! The event included the whole school and marked the start of Women’s History Month. The Humanities Department, in collaboration with the History, Art, and Spanish teachers, commemorated this celebration by providing information about International Women’s Day to the students and by participating in activities to help create a more inclusive environment of gender equality.
All students and staff were invited to wear purple to celebrate International Women’s Day. The members of the Student Council worked hard in designing posters and flyers and displayed them around the building to communicate this message. Purple is the color that historically represents women’s rights and feminist movements.
Prior to the assembly, Advance teachers introduced the students to International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month. This was continued at the start of the assembly through a brief presentation by Ms. McClean, the Spanish teacher, and Mr. Wilker, the History teacher. The students then completed a group brainstorming exercise about what they knew about International Women’s Day. After the brainstorming session, each student group shared an idea. Ms. McClean and Mr. Wilker then completed their brief presentation about the importance of International Women’s Day and gender equality.
At the end of the presentation the students were invited to post a positive comment on the “Purple Sea” about important or inspirational women in their lives. The “Purple Sea” was a large banner created by Ms. Glaaser, the Art teacher, which included the international symbol for women. The students wrote comments about a variety of women; some students wrote thankful notes about their grandmother or mother, while others wrote notes about women they admired from the past, such as Harriet Tubman or Shirley Chisholm. Still, others chose to honor modern figures such as Michelle Obama or Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Overall, International Women’s Day was a great success! Students learned about the importance of gender equality through hands-on activities like the brainstorming exercise and the “Purple Sea.” The Aaron School community looks forward to celebrating International Women’s Day in the coming years!