Dear Underwood Community,
The Underwood PTO would like to acknowledge the sadness, anger, and fear many may feel after watching the injustice surrounding the death of Mr. Floyd and the subsequent unrest throughout our country.
Our school expectations are to take care of ourselves, others, and the environment. Part of “taking care” is recognizing and speaking up when we, others, and the environment are being treated unjustly. Many of our students have been learning about being an upstander – about recognizing when something is wrong, and acting to make it right. Below are a few resources to help Underwood families as they think about how to be upstanders in this time.
FORJ City-Wide Meeting: Symptoms of COVID-19 and Racism in our Community
All members of the Underwood community are invited to join Newton Families Organizing for Racial Justice (FORJ) at their city-wide meeting on June 10th.
- Date/Time: Wednesday June 10th @ 7:30-8:30 PM
- RSVP: Zoom password required please RSVP HERE
- FORJ Website:Visit the FORJ website to sign up for our newsletter and receive more information about this and other upcoming meetings. Email FORJatUnderwood@gmail.com if you are interested in joining Underwood’s chapter of FORJ.
Additional Resources about Racism
Below is an abbreviated list of additional resources for talking about racism with your children:
- Embrace Race: This website includes webinars, articles, and toolkits designed to help parents and children be brave about race.
- Books for Littles: Engaging children’s picture books to discuss hard topics. There are links to additional resources and toolkits written specifically for families with school-aged children.
- Dottir Press Books: A selection of books to support families as they speak about racism are free until June 19th.
- FORJ Resources: A collection of relevant books, articles, and information.
- Wee The People Boston: A great resource for activities and workshops in the Boston area.
Letters from Community Leaders
- Letter from Principal Elaine Harold, Underwood School Principal
- Dr. David Fleishman, Newton Superintendent of Schools
- Newton School Committee
We look forward to when we can all be together again. This fall we plan to hold our Cultural Fair again, where we celebrate the wonderful diversity of our school community. In the meantime, the Underwood Community Cookbook was launched last month as a way to virtually celebrate Underwood’s diversity.
We hope these resources and links provide you and your families with information to empower hope and change. For more information please reach out to Underwood FORJ Committee.
Best regards,
The Underwood FORJ Committee and PTO