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Consider becoming “Partners in Harmony” with another elementary school whose students have a different racial demographic or cultural heritage.
Hold a Partners in Harmony:
- Picnic
- Cultural Field Trip and Lunch, one class at a time.
- Lunch and Recess – each school host one class from the partner school.
- Field Day.
- Movie and Popcorn Night – each school host the partner school.
- Social activities for all adult groups, e.g., school board, faculties, etc.
- School Liturgy. Mix your choirs. Teach songs ahead of time to all classes.
- Read Across America Day. 7th/8th graders read to the Kindergarten students of partner school.
- Program Exchange. Attend each other’s Christmas, Black History or other programs.
At your own school:
- Faculty and Staff read and discuss Made in the Image and Likeness of God, a Pastoral Letter on Racial Harmony. Discuss how it can be age-appropriately implemented at each grade level.
- Include a daily prayer for racial harmony at assemblies, liturgies, school board and PTA meetings.
- Hold a racial harmony prayer, poetry, essay and/or art contest. Use the students’ prayers at assemblies, liturgies. Display the art.
- Use the Kids’ Clarion to highlight your activities and to publish children’s prayers, art, essays and poems.
- Have a year round bulletin board in foyer or cafeteria with a racial harmony theme. Use it to post pictures of Partners in Harmony activities, students’ prayers, essays, poems and art.
- Have students interview their elders to learn the family history, cultural practices and celebrations. Share these stories with their Partners in Harmony.
- Hold a Multi-Cultural Day – invite speakers, story-tellers, musicians, chefs, college professors, artists of various racial/ethnic backgrounds. Ask the guests to wear their native dress if possible.
- Involve each class and their room parents in planning activities.
- Teach the lives of the saints mentioned in the implementation plan of the pastoral, #4 under Recommendations for Parishes and purchase pictures and/or statues of these saints.
- Insure that all races in the school are represented on Student Council, PTA and school boards.
- Allow students to display their baby/childhood pictures on a classroom bulletin board. Have them find pictures of babies of all races. Help your class choose a caption such as “We are children of the Lord”, “Children of the King”, “Jesus loves the Little Children of the World.
- Ask the music teacher to teach a song to tie in with your bulletin board, e.g. “Jesus Loves the Little Children”.
- Stock your library with multi-ethnic authors and books. When having a book sale, check that the company can provide multi-ethnic materials.
- Beginning with your own students, read the folklore of all races and countries and explore the similarities and differences.
- Celebrate the major holidays and feast days of all races.
- Check out the many websites that promote racial harmony.