Consider becoming “Partners in Harmony” with another elementary school whose students have a different racial demographic or cultural heritage.
Hold a Partners in Harmony:
Picnic
Cultural Field Trip and Lunch, one class at a time.
Lunch and Recess – each school host one class from the partner school.
Field Day.
Movie and Popcorn Night – each school host the partner school.
Social activities for all adult groups, e.g., school board, faculties, etc.
School Liturgy. Mix your choirs. Teach songs ahead of time to all classes.
Read Across America Day. 7th/8th graders read to the Kindergarten students of partner school.
Program Exchange. Attend each other’s Christmas, Black History or other programs.
At your own school:
Faculty and Staff read and discuss Made in the Image and Likeness of God, a Pastoral Letter on Racial Harmony. Discuss how it can be age-appropriately implemented at each grade level.
Include a daily prayer for racial harmony at assemblies, liturgies, school board and PTA meetings.
Hold a racial harmony prayer, poetry, essay and/or art contest. Use the students’ prayers at assemblies, liturgies. Display the art.
Use the Kids’ Clarion to highlight your activities and to publish children’s prayers, art, essays and poems.
Have a year round bulletin board in foyer or cafeteria with a racial harmony theme. Use it to post pictures of Partners in Harmony activities, students’ prayers, essays, poems and art.
Have students interview their elders to learn the family history, cultural practices and celebrations. Share these stories with their Partners in Harmony.
Hold a Multi-Cultural Day – invite speakers, story-tellers, musicians, chefs, college professors, artists of various racial/ethnic backgrounds. Ask the guests to wear their native dress if possible.
Involve each class and their room parents in planning activities.
Teach the lives of the saints mentioned in the implementation plan of the pastoral, #4 under Recommendations for Parishes and purchase pictures and/or statues of these saints.
Insure that all races in the school are represented on Student Council, PTA and school boards.
Allow students to display their baby/childhood pictures on a classroom bulletin board. Have them find pictures of babies of all races. Help your class choose a caption such as “We are children of the Lord”, “Children of the King”, “Jesus loves the Little Children of the World.
Ask the music teacher to teach a song to tie in with your bulletin board, e.g. “Jesus Loves the Little Children”.
Stock your library with multi-ethnic authors and books. When having a book sale, check that the company can provide multi-ethnic materials.
Beginning with your own students, read the folklore of all races and countries and explore the similarities and differences.
Celebrate the major holidays and feast days of all races.
Check out the many websites that promote racial harmony.