Thank you to those who joined the DEI Committee conversation last month. Here are a few key updates:
- One-Step-at-a-Time walk THIS FRIDAY. In partnership with the Hindley Green Team to celebrate Earth Week, we welcome you to meet at the corner of Nearwater and Post Rd at 8:25/8:30 to meet and talk DEI with us! We will partner with prompts and walk to Weed beach and back.
- Coffee and Conversation at Tokeneke THIS THURSDAY on “Being an Upstander” Principal Ryan Betts and the Tokeneke DEI Committee invite DPS parents and caregivers to join for coffee + conversation on “Being an Upstander”. This will be an informal, interactive discussion among small groups where participants share reactions to reading materials on the topic. All registrants will receive the materials in advance, however, time will also be provided during the session to review them. Please RSVP here to let us know if you will be able to join on April 20th from 9-10.15 in the Tokeneke Common Room. Please email if you cannot attend this in-person session but are interested in a Zoom option in the future!
- Hindley Parent Learning Series with Principal Snowden returns NEXT WEEK and we are very excited! This will be in-person at Hindley and be a great way to foster community and conversation. The two sessions are meant to build on one another – on April 25th, it will be more of a lecture and Q&A and on April 27th we will use the “Save the last word” format to discuss the topic of Belonging in small groups.
- SAVE THE DATE (May 19th 12-1:30pm in person at the Darien Library): All-Elementary Parent Learning: LGBTQ+ 101: An Introduction to Identities & Allyship (Early Childhood/K-5 Focus). We are excited to share that a community educator with the Triangle Community Center (TCC) in Norwalk has agreed to provide training for parents/caregivers of pre-K to 5th graders in our community in advance of Pride Month. From terminology and definitions to rethinking historical and traditional assumptions about gender and sexuality, this training is a must for all of those who wish to be informed, and therefore effective, allies to the community. The target audience is parents/caregivers of pre-K to fifth-grades, but it is open to all adults.
- Outreach to incoming Kindergarten families – if you know if any incoming families that would be interested in joining our committee and/or taking on a leadership role next year, please share our email address (hindleydei@gmail.com)
- Next Hindley DEI Committee Meeting – Monday May 8th (12pm via Zoom – link to be sent the week before the meeting)
Finally, I am excited to announce that Steph Rodousakis will take over as our new DEI Committee Chair for 2023-2024!
Please join me in welcoming Steph to this role. Over the next two months, we will continue to evolve the Committee, but will continue to need volunteers to drive our good work forward. Please reach out if you are interested in acting as a Sub-Chair on any of the following DEI activities:
- Hindley Heritage Celebration 2024
- DEI welcome Table at the Hindley Bash
- DEI Bulletin Board
- Random Acts of Kindness Week 2024
- Recruitment of Incoming Kindergarten Parents
- Parent Learning Series / Coffee and Conversation
- Community Engagement
- Other / New ideas welcome!
Carrie