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WFHA Brings MLK’s Vision Alive

Grasping placards and their favorite stuffed animals, WFHA's kindergarteners donned winter jackets and excitedly waited to walk outside into the softly falling snow.

"We are going to rally," yelled out excited kindergartener, Eli Brennan, whose placard read, "Save the Polar Bears."

After learning about Martin Luther King, Jr. and the powerful impact peaceful protesting had on the civil rights movement, kindergarteners staged their own protest and voted to take on the cause of endangered animals.

About 40 strong, the group of tiny demonstrators sang, "We Shall Save the Animals," to the tune of the 60's protest anthem, "We Shall Overcome." Their voices filled the air, as they marched proudly around campus with their message.

The kindergarten protest was one of many activities taking place on WFHA's campus throughout the Martin Luther King holiday, a day in which the school remained open for a day of learning about this important historical figure.

Teachers spent the weeks leading up to the holiday planning creative activities and lessons that would help their students learn about Martin Luther King and his place within the civil rights movement.

In the middle school, each eighth grader took on the persona of a famous civil rights activist including Jessie Jackson, Linda Brown, Rosa Parks and Ruby Bridges. Sixth and seventh graders rotated from room to room where each of the "activists" spoke to them about the impact they had on history.

"Without Martin Luther King, people would still be segregated. We have to be very thankful. This world would never have become what it is today," said eighth grader Rachel Kwan, who represented King.

After their interviews, the entire middle gathered to watch the Miri Ben-Ari video, "Symphony of Brotherhood." Ben-Ari, an Israeli hip-hop violinist, uses MLK's "I Have a Dream Speech" as a backdrop to her electrifying performance. Then, the students each contributed to a large civil rights era timeline and wrote their own lyrics to the Beatles ballad, "Imagine."

The group spent the afternoon at the Greenwich Bruce Museum where they watched the Messiah Baptist Gospel Choir perform. The students wrapped up the busy day with King's "I See the Promised Land" speech.

Meanwhile, numerous activities were taking place elsewhere around campus, including a performance of "The Montgomery Bus Boycott" by the PALS fourth and fifth grade class and a study of the art of oration by the fifth grade. The fifth grade wove the oration lesson into the week's Torah portion, which dealt with Moses becoming the spokesman and leader of the Jewish people.

Spending the day learning was a great way to spend the holiday, said eighth grader Leah Nusbaum, who conducted hours of research before presenting the Rosa Parks story to her peers.

Leah said she learned an important lesson - one that she shared with her classmates. "The activities of just one person, just one small black woman, impacted history. Any one person can make a difference. Even you."