Holidays and celebrations provide an opportunity to celebrate the values and traditions of our Pacific Primary community. Celebrations are secular, developmentally appropriate, anti-bias and anti-commercial. Many of these celebrations are school-wide events, but some are celebrated uniquely in the individual classrooms. Some of the celebrations are described below.
The beginning of the school year is a great time to introduce the concept of different kinds of families through the celebration of “Love Makes a Family.” Pictures, stories and drawings are displayed and related books, songs and other art activities are part of the celebration. Halloween is celebrated with songs and by wearing black and orange. Parents are invited to join their children for a Thanksgiving lunch. The goal is to keep the month of December as peaceful as possible; there is a Winter Candlelight Sing-Along that promotes the ideas of peace, sharing and caring.
In January, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday is celebrated with an all-school Peace Parade – the children make hats, necklaces and signs to wear during the parade. They are also given age-appropriate information about Dr. King through books and stories and the celebration concludes with a story, singing and cake. Lunar New Year is also celebrated with an all-school parade. As the year progresses, a group of school children visit from Japan, and in May, a Special Friends Day is held. Each child invites an adult friend to spend the morning at school and there is a May Pole dance, singing and a special lunch. Staff, parents and friends are invited in June to join Pacific Primary at the San Francisco Pride Parade where we march with other schools. Graduation is held in August with an all-school picnic. All children participate and the graduates sing special songs and receive a flowering plant.