Schoolhouse Students Celebrate Kwanzaa
January 12, 2012, page 7.....

On December 20, students, teachers, families and alumni of The Schoolhouse in South Burlington celebrated Kwanzaa in a ceremony of song, tradition and reflection. Kwanzaa is a contemporary, non-religious, African American holiday that focuses on family, weaving in symbols rooted in African tradition. The holiday begins on December 26 and is celebrated for seven days, culminating in a feast or Karamu on January 1. The celebration has been a tradition at The Schoolhouse for decades; it marked the end of three weeks of study and preparation exploring aspects of the holiday, African American culture and one’s own family traditions and values.
As part of their study, students learned about the Seven Principles of Kwanzaa: unity, self-determination, working together, supporting each other, purpose, creativity, faith and especially faith in one’s self, in both English and Swahili. Then they related these to their own family’s values. Reflecting on the principal of Umoja “unity,” Bella Opalenik of Burlington said, “Me and Mommy and Daddy decorate the Christmas Tree…My dad picked me up to put the star on top.” Clara Cichoskikelly of Hinesburg explained, Ujama (working together) “is important to my family because we work together to put the dishes away and clean the guinea pigs’ cage. We also make our beds in the morning.”
The study of Kwanzaa also offers students an opportunity to focus on African American history and African Americans’ contributions to culture and science. The third and fourth graders, under the tutelage of their teacher Mark Stein of Williston, reflected on the accomplishments of African-American scientists, inventors and artists. Ryan Anderson of South Burlington described the musical career of Scott Joplin, while Jake Shayne of Charlotte described the engineering career of Guion Stewart Bluford, Jr.
As is the Schoolhouse tradition, the youngest students lit the first candle of the Kinara, the Kwanzaa candelabra with seven candles representing each of the seven principles. This year Nari Penson of Winooski assisted Gabriel Helak of Shelburne and his kindergarten classmates in lighting the candle for the first principle as they said in unison, “Umoja means Unity.”
Myleigh Modun of Richmond closed the ceremony according to Kwanzaa tradition by leading the crowd in repeating Harambay “let’s pull together” in unison before heading off to Karamu where each family brought a dish to share from their family tradition.
The Schoolhouse is an independent, K-6 elementary school, located just off Dorset Street in South Burlington, which celebrates children’s unique talents and nurtures their intellectual and emotional growth. The Schoolhouse will be hosting observation mornings for interested families every Wednesday in January, 9-11 a.m. For more information about The Schoolhouse contact Liz Shayne, Head of School, eshayne@theschoolhousevt.org or visit the website theschoolhousevt.org.

Information for this article was provided by the Schoolhouse.