By Maile Biehl
After many years of Mashpee not having a Human Rights Club, in 2019, Ms. Purdy and Mrs. Reynolds decided to open up and run the Human Rights Club.
This year, they have decided to bring back Diversity Day, which was last held in 2013. Diversity Day this year was held on January 24 throughout the school and a presentation was held in the auditorium from 12:00 to 2:45.
Many faculty and staff were involved in organizing Diversity Day, and many students who performed during the presentation for Diversity Day. The many presentations all represented the overarching theme of the diversity in Mashpee and making an effort to celebrate it by holding a Diversity Day.
Students presented songs, dances and speeches about diversity and their immigration stories. The dances presented represented different cultures, including the Wampanoag, Chinese and hispanic cultures. Along with the student presentations, Mrs. Pamela Chatterton-Purdy presented her story with diversity and the history with creating art to represent many civil rights icons including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., The Little Rock Nine, Emmett Louis Till, Jesse Jackson and The Children’s Campaign.
After many years of Mashpee not having a Human Rights Club, in 2019, Ms. Purdy and Mrs. Reynolds decided to open up and run the Human Rights Club.
This year, they have decided to bring back Diversity Day, which was last held in 2013. Diversity Day this year was held on January 24 throughout the school and a presentation was held in the auditorium from 12:00 to 2:45.
Many faculty and staff were involved in organizing Diversity Day, and many students who performed during the presentation for Diversity Day. The many presentations all represented the overarching theme of the diversity in Mashpee and making an effort to celebrate it by holding a Diversity Day.
Students presented songs, dances and speeches about diversity and their immigration stories. The dances presented represented different cultures, including the Wampanoag, Chinese and hispanic cultures. Along with the student presentations, Mrs. Pamela Chatterton-Purdy presented her story with diversity and the history with creating art to represent many civil rights icons including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., The Little Rock Nine, Emmett Louis Till, Jesse Jackson and The Children’s Campaign.
Photos by Superintendent DeBoer In the 2018-2019 school year, many students were interested in having a Human Rights Club after many years of there not being one. Along with the students, Ms. Purdy and Mrs. Reynolds showed interest in running a Human Rights Club for the upcoming school year. This year, The new Human Rights Club officially began again after seven years of absence. There is a group of twenty students who eventually organized Diversity Day with the intention of celebrating diversity in Mashpee and surrounding areas. They made this event with the help of the club advisors and support from the school.
There were many students who took part in the presentation. Mashpee Middle High School students, DJ Peters, Caesar Hendricks, Jenaya Perry and Amaya Peters performed traditional Wampanoag dances. Peter Gonsalves and Sophia Ortiz danced to the song “Corazon SinCara” with a special appearance from Ms. Purdy and Mr. MacDonald. Caroline Raber and Chapel Fancher performed a traditional ribbon dance.
Mashpee senior Julia Medeiros presented her journey as in immigrants into the United States and about immigration itself. Along with Julia, there were faculty members and students who presented their stories as well, this included Ms. Patel, Shivani Patel, Dennise Laguna, Amna Iqbal and Ms. Phillips.
Along with all of the student and faculty presentations, Mrs. Pamela Chatterton Purdy was the key speaker of this event.