Spirit Week will spread awareness and welcome everyone in our school community

BY HANNAH MUELLER, STAFF WRITER

SHS’s Civil Rights Team hosts its 4th annual Day of Welcome on Nov. 4 to celebrate, promote and welcome our diverse school community, including themed spirit days.

The day of welcome also allows our school to engage more with the community when it comes to thinking about religion, skin color, sexuality, gender and more. 

There are many ways students and/or teachers can participate. According to the Civil Rights Team, there will be “How I Make Others Feel Welcome” half-sheets that students can fill out to include in our display outside the library. Spartan Time homerooms were encouraged to fill some of these out ahead of time.

To spread awareness and gain support and momentum for the Day of Welcome, the Civil Rights Team has created a spirit week they would like SHS to participate in. The colors are as follows:

Monday, Oct. 31: Orange for Race and Skin Color

Tuesday, Nov. 1: Purple for Religion 

Wednesday, Nov. 2:  Light Blue for Gender Identity and Expression AND Dark Blue for Sexual Orientation

Thursday, Nov. 3: Green for Disabilities

Friday, Nov. 4:  Red for National Origin and Ancestry

This day is celebrated and held by civil rights teams in more than 300 schools throughout Maine. Since the start of 2019, when the idea was first established, roughly 125 schools from all 16 counties are expected to participate. 

According to the press release, this statewide event is sponsored by the Maine Office of the Attorney General through the Civil Rights Team Project (CRTP), a “school-based program that supports student civil rights teams, who engage their school communities in thinking and talking about the six protected categories under the Maine Civil Rights Act.”

The program is now 25 years old and is available to all Maine schools, grades three and up, at no cost. There are currently more than 200 participating schools. The CRTP clarifies to all schools that The Day of Welcome is non-political.

If you have any questions or would like to join the Civil Rights Team, feel free to contact Mrs. Whitney with any questions: hwhitney@sanford.org.