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Welcome!
Welcome!
Welcome to the first installment of the Noah Wallace IDEA+ Community Newsletter for the 2023-24 school year! The IDEA+ Club is dedicated to honoring and empowering all members of our Noah Wallace community. We are so excited to share our community’s reflections. This newsletter will continue to feature submissions from YOU to share and celebrate together. Our Fall themes include Diwali, Yom Kippur and much more.
To the families that contributed pictures, recipes and information about holidays and cultural traditions for this newsletter, thank you for making this possible! We plan to continue publishing 2 more editions this year, and to do that we need your help! We’d love to share your family’s seasonal celebrations, recipes, etc. with our community. Please submit your personal stories, recipes, photographs, or book suggestions. No idea is too small! Your reflections will be included in the next newsletter and on the website.
We hope sharing in each other’s worlds will help us strengthen and celebrate our dynamic and diverse community. In the newsletter below, you will find firsthand perspectives on the themes of the month. You will also discover submissions from Noah Wallace teachers that highlight our themes.
Thank you!
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
IDEA+ Club Events
IDEA+ Club Events
IDEA+ Club at the Hartford Athletic:
October 13, 2023
IDEA+ Club at the Hartford Athletic:
October 13, 2023
The IDEA+ Club was happy to organize an outing to a Hartford Athletic soccer game on a beautiful October evening. It was fun to see friends and teachers outside of school and the fact that 2 other FPS elementary schools were there made it even more special. We look forward to planning other events with the Hartford Athletic and starting a new tradition.
Upcoming Events:
Upcoming Events:
Don’t miss our next set of events! In conjunction with the PTO, IDEA+ Club would like to invite all Noah Wallace Families to stop in to our Coffee and Conversation meet ups. Stop by the library from 8:30-9:15 and enjoy coffee, a breakfast treat and a chance to meet other parents. Grades K-2 will meet on 11/29 and Grades 3-4 on 12/1. Please plan to join us!
Noah Wallace Celebrates
Noah Wallace Celebrates
Christmas Pierogies with the Fernandes Family
Christmas Pierogies with the Fernandes Family
Every year before Christmas, my siblings and I go over my parents house to make pierogies for Christmas Eve. We make about 300 pierogis that day and it takes us few hours to make them. I really enjoy this day because we listen to Polish music, we talk about everything and everyone has a great time. While my family hangs out together all the time, there is something special about making food together. Now my children are starting to get involved and I can't wait to see them appreciate this day as much as I do.
Food for Thought
Food for Thought
In 2021, the Noah Wallace PTO published a Community Cookbook. For this issue of the newsletter, we opened the vault and wanted to share a recipe with you. Enjoy!
Peruvian Rice With Chicken
Emily Coronado/1st Grade
Peruvian Rice With Chicken
Emily Coronado/1st Grade
Ingredients:
½ cup olive oil
4 chicken legs (sometimes we replace with chicken tenders)
½ red onion chopped finely
1 tablespoon garlic paste
¼ teaspoon cumin (optional)
1 tablespoon ají amarillo chili pepper paste (optional)
1 cup cilantro leaves freshly processed
1 tablespoon ají panca chili pepper paste (optional)
2 cups white long-grain rice
1 cup malt beer optional
½ cup green peas cooked
½ cup carrots cooked & diced
2 ½ cups chicken stock or water
1 cup salsa criolla
1 red bell pepper julienned
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Items listed as optional are items we sometimes leave out if not available.
Season the chicken with salt and pepper, and fry in a frying pan over a medium heat until sealed all over (not cooked inside). Remove the chicken and set aside.
Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pot, lightly fry the onion, garlic paste and ají amarillo paste (optional), ají panca paste (optional) and cumin (optional) for two minutes over a medium heat.
Blend the cilantro in a blender (sometimes we add other vegetables in the blender such as red pepper, yellow pepper, or orange pepper)
Add the cilantro paste, mix well and let the ingredients cook for another five minutes, or until the onion is soft.
Add the chicken thighs (or chicken legs or chicken tenders) to this mixture of seasoning and cook for 20 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked inside. Remove the chicken pieces and set aside.
Add the rice to the same pot where you cooked the chicken, which still has more seasoning, and add the 2½ cups of chicken stock or water. Mix the ingredients well so the rice is covered with seasoning (otherwise it won’t take on its characteristically green tinge). Bring to a boil over a high heat without a lid. As soon as it starts to boil, cover the pot and let the rice cook over a low heat for 15 minutes approximately.
Allow chicken to cook in the pot
Prepare the salsa criolla by mixing the red onion, finely chopped limo chili pepper, parsley, olive oil, lime juice and salt. Add the cooked carrots and peas. Place a generous portion of rice on each plate, top with a piece of chicken and serve salsa criolla.
From the Noah Wallace Library
From the Noah Wallace Library
Book of the Month
Book of the Month
We are Grateful: Otsaliheliga
by Traci Sorell
Illustrated by Frane Lessac
In celebration of Native American Heritage Month and Thanksgiving, the book of the season is We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, written by Traci Sorell and illustrated by Frane Lessac. Otsaliheliga (oh-jah-LEE-hay-lee-gah) is a word used by members of the Cherokee Nation to express gratitude, and this book reminds readers to give thanks for all things. Beginning in the fall and ending in summer, Sorrell walks readers through the seasons and expresses thanks for the celebrations and struggles brought by each time of year. Colorful illustrations bring the text to life, and Cherokee words are introduced throughout - in English, Cherokee, and with phonetic pronunciation guides.
Around the District: Finding Belonging in a Variety of Spaces
Around the District: Finding Belonging in a Variety of Spaces
KID Club: Sharing Thoughts with Mrs. Sedgwick and Mrs. Gambardella
KID Club: Sharing Thoughts with Mrs. Sedgwick and Mrs. Gambardella
KID Club is a group of students and teachers that meet once a month after school and focus on learning more about Kindness, Inclusion and Diversity. As part of their November meeting, the students kindly took the time to answer some questions for us in order to allow us a chance to get to know them better and see the world from their perspective. We hope you enjoy their responses as much as we did!
What is your favorite holiday or celebration:
What is your favorite holiday or celebration:
My favorite holiday is Christmas because I get presents and my whole family plays in the snow with me.- Elias
It’s Diwali because all my Indian friends and me do a dance- Vihaan
Thanksgiving! I love spending quality time with my family around some yummy food. We always play games, too! - Mrs. Sedgwick
Holi - I am Indian so I celebrate Holi- you throw color. - Reeva
My favorite holiday is New Years Eve because my family makes ice cream punch with candy canes. - Lydia
My favorite holiday is Christmas because I try to catch Santa. - Sophie
My favorite holiday is Christmas because I get to have family time and I get presents. - Valentina
My Favorite holiday is Easter- Josiah
Diwali because it has fireworks and it is the celebration of light. - Kshitija
My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving because there is FOOD!- Esther
Halloween because you get to dress up.- Olivia
Halloween because we see my family and go to a party- Lea
My Birthday! Because I get older and my mom and dad give me gifts.- Aairah
What is something about your family that makes you feel proud?
What is something about your family that makes you feel proud?
That nobody in my family does dance except for me. - Alex
My identical twin brothers make me proud!- Amelia
That my family speaks Portuguese and is half Brazilian. - Valentina
We are all different but we still love each other.- Emily
I am proud that I read all summer and I am going to be in choir next year.- Farren
Thank you for sharing, KID club members!
Culturally Curious
Culturally Curious
Diwali, the "Festival of Lights"
Diwali, the "Festival of Lights"
Diwali is known as the “Festival of Lights” and is widely celebrated in India. It is primarily a Hindu festival, but is celebrated by many other religions as well, including by Jains, Sikhs and some Buddhists. To celebrate, rows of lamps called Deepavali are lit inside and outside homes and buildings. The lights represent the triumph of light over dark and the power of good over evil. Diwali falls sometime between mid-September and mid-November each year and marks the transition from fall to winter.
Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement
Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement
Considered by many to be the most significant Jewish holiday, Yom Kippur is the Jewish Day of Atonement. On Yom Kippur, Jewish people reflect on the past year and seek forgiveness for their wrongdoings. Yom Kippur concludes a 10-day period that begins with the Jewish New Year, called Rosh Hashanah. Some Jewish people fast from sunset the night before Yom Kippur until sunset on Yom Kippur Eve, after which people often gather for a celebratory break-fast meal. Many also attend services at their synagogue.
Curious?
Curious?
To learn more, check out this video from PBS Learning Media
Mawlid al-Nabi, Birthday of the Prophet Mohammad
Mawlid al-Nabi, Birthday of the Prophet Mohammad
Many Muslims celebrate Mawlid al-Nabi, the birthday of the Prophet Mohammad, on the twelfth day of the month Rabi’ al-Awwal, which fell in September (of the Gregorian calendar) this year. Celebrations can be both private and public and vary from country to country. Some communities share food, go to lectures about the Prophet’s life, and attend prayer services; some decorate their local mosque and hold large festival gatherings.
Pictured:
Malaysian Sunni Muslims in a Mawlid procession in Putrajaya
Curious?
Curious?
To learn more here from Harvard University's The Pluralism Project.
Community Events
Community Events
Native Americans of the Eastern Woodland
Native Americans of the Eastern Woodland
Roaring Brook Nature Center, Canton
Friday, November 24th, 11:30am
Join us the day following Thanksgiving to celebrate Native American Heritage Day. Our program will discuss the wisdom and contributions of the pre-European native people of the eastern woodlands in New England.
Gingerbread House Festival
Gingerbread House Festival
Wood Memorial Library, South Windsor
November 24, 2023 – December 17, 2023
The Friends of Wood Memorial Library & Museum’s Annual Gingerbread House Festival will be back for its 13th Year. This year's theme is "Shiny & Bright" Free and open to the public.
Festival of Trees & Traditions
Festival of Trees & Traditions
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford
November 30 – December 10, 2023
Celebrate the season and support the Wadsworth during this major holiday fundraiser. Each year, community members, artists, and volunteers from local organizations decorate holiday trees and wreaths, turning the galleries into a winter wonderland. All items are for sale and profits support the museum’s special exhibitions, programs, and operating expenses. Performances by local musicians are available on select days and times. Check out the schedule!
The 17th Annual Candlelight Tours: Christmas in Farmington, Connecticut
The 17th Annual Candlelight Tours: Christmas in Farmington, Connecticut
Stanley Whitman House, Farmington
Saturday, December 2nd, various times
Join the festivities of the season in our popular annual holiday tour of the 1720 historic Stanley-Whitman House decorated for the holidays!
Multicultural Holiday Music with Guitar & Mandolin
Multicultural Holiday Music with Guitar & Mandolin
Noah Webster Library, West Hartford
Monday, December 4, 2023 | 6:30pm - 8:00pm
Enchanting instrumental renditions of traditional and contemporary holiday music. A variety of lively tunes and lyrical melodies with an international flavor. Audiences respond enthusiastically to the charming sound of the guitar & mandolin as Judy & Mark play their own arrangements of beautiful, inspiring holiday music from many cultures. Judy & Mark offer interesting commentary about the origins of holiday music from the U.S., England, Ireland, Wales, Puerto Rico, Spain, Ukraine, songs of Hanukkah, and themes from the Nutcracker. Handler & Levesque, have performed over 2,500 concerts together over the past 29 years in the United States & Europe.
A Celebration of Land and Sea: Modern Indigenous Cuisine in New England
A Celebration of Land and Sea: Modern Indigenous Cuisine in New England
CT Museum of Culture & History, Hartford
Saturday, December 9 | 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm
An afternoon lecture and discussion, Rachel will delve into the rich traditions and celebrations of Indigenous people in New England and how these customs have continued. Through the seasons of the year, she will discuss honoring the bounty of the harvests with multiple thanksgivings: Strawberry Thanksgiving, Green Bean Thanksgiving, Green Corn Thanksgiving; and will share with us her knowledge about traditional foods and recipes.
Rachel Beth Sayet is a member of the Mohegan nation. Raised with the spirits of her ancestors, she grew up learning traditional stories and teachings and participating in tribal events. Rachel has always been passionate about and proud of her Mohegan heritage and identity.
Boar’s Head & Yule Log Festival
Boar’s Head & Yule Log Festival
Asylum Hill Congregational Church, Hartford
January 6-7, 2024
Attended by over 3000 people annually, AHCC’s Boar’s Head and Yule Log Festival is a joyous and poignant celebration of Epiphany presented in January. With more than 250 people involved it has become the culminating event of the Greater Hartford holiday season.
Open Call to Families
Open Call to Families
Your contributions are what make this newsletter rich and engaging! IDEA+ encourages every member of the community to consider sharing so that it keeps growing strong. Going forward, we hope to have even more student voices represented and would love any pictures, stories, recipes your child may also want to submit. Our own ‘normal’ may be new, different and exciting to another in our community - and we always love to hear how everyone is doing!
If you’re interested in attending the IDEA+ Committee meetings, we encourage you to click on the link provided for more information. You can also email the NWS PTO (nwpto@fpsct.org) with questions or ideas.
Thank you again!
NWS IDEA+ Committee
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