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Monday, October 11, has several holidays happening at once: Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Italian Heritage Day, and National Coming Out Day. Many community members at PPAS have roots in these cultures and traditions and it is an honor to celebrate them together. Here are some resources for more information:
Go to our PPAS Voice page to view the latest edition and read back issues, too.
Join members of PPAS’ Equity team on Thursday Feb, 11th for a POC (Person of Color) Parent Community Gathering.
Learn more about the school’s equity team, meet other parents of color and express your ideas and concerns. Looking forward to convening with parents of color for the purpose of community building at PPAS.
DATE: Thursday, February 11th
TIME: 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
REGISTER HERE: https://forms.gle/wREtCC6nWh51hoEK7
Thank you to the PPAS Senior Leadership class for putting together a beautiful way to keep the spirit light and share New Year’s resolutions.
Friday, November 20th, is Transgender Day of Remembrance. On this day each year, we honor the memory of the transgender people whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence. You can participate in Transgender Day of Remembrance by taking time to honor those lives that were lost and by learning about the violence that affects the transgender community. You can start by checking out these resources:
Forward Together dreams of Trans Freedom: https://tdor.co/
Learn the story of William Dorsey Swann, the world’s first self-described drag queen and one of the first individuals of color in America to stand up for the rights of queer and trans people.
Many more resources at this shared Google Doc. (You may need a Gmail account to access.)
“Transgender Day of Remembrance is really all about remembering to never forget the history and presence of trans* people in our world. And with that, Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) stands as an even larger motivator to embrace the identities we ourselves have and the identities of others. It’s a day for action, for mobilization, for story-telling, and for revitalization. But most importantly, TDOR is an opportunity to celebrate the diverse lives of trans* people everywhere. It’s crucial to recognize that trans* people have made great, beautiful strides to transform and challenge society… and what’s even more awesome and admirable is that we keep doing so every single day. We continue to come out, to speak out, to shout out loud that we have hurt and we have lost but that will never prevent us from shouting even louder that we are here and we will continue to exist in the most influential ways—that’s what matters most to me: having a community that I can stand with no matter what.” – GLSEN Student Media Ambassador Loan T.
Thank you to the Brooklyn Millennium HS Gay/Straight Alliance for pulling these resources together.
If you want to get more involved in LBGT issues, please contact our LBGT/Straight Alliance advisor, Dr. Lankewish, at vlankewish@ppasshare.org
From Mr. Ryan:
Each year on Veterans’ Day, my family visits a veterans’ monument in our Brooklyn neighborhood. There is always a small military band and a few speeches from local politicians. Sadly, this year such events have largely been cancelled due to the pandemic. We might still take a walk and read the words and the names of the men on the monument. Even without the fanfare, I feel it’s important to spend some part of the day honoring the men and women who served, and are serving our country. These courageous people, void of political entanglements , have an enduring commitment to ALL citizens. To them I am forever grateful. Below are some virtual resources for celebrating our national heroes.
Video explaining the holiday: middle to high school
The Veterans History Project oral history archive. Use the search feature to look for digitized veteran profiles, or browse the collections below:
Courage, Patriotism, and Community
African Americans at War: Fighting Two Battles
Jewish Veterans of World War II
Willing to Serve: American Indians
Healing with Honor: Medical Personnel
LGBT Veterans‘ Medal of Honor Recipients
National Monuments – state by state. A good resource from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
Welcome to the 2020-2021 school year! New parents are invited to join us at our meetings and get involved. Please explore the site and sign up for our mailing list. We’re looking forward to meeting you!
