Elementary Principal Letter

Dear ANCS Elementary Families,

I hope you are all having a wonderful week so far. We are having a great week here at the EC. 

Beginning this week, our focus for morning meeting is celebrating Black History Month. We are so lucky to have Ms. KaToya Sumner in our school family and she helped us kick off this month with singing Lift Every Voice and Sing, the Black National Anthem, at Monday’s morning meeting. It was so moving and beautiful. Each week until March 3rd we will share interesting historical facts and highlight important African Americans during our morning meeting. 

We have a committee here at school that has planned a lot of activities to celebrate African American culture. Mrs. Shelley (our librarian) is sharing some beautiful books that focus on Black History. Classroom teachers will continue the learning in their classrooms through conversations and exploration. Students will work together to decorate their classroom door to celebrate the African American culture and individuals who have impacted our lives. In addition to that, we will have a theme each week to support our shared learning. Here are our themes for each week:

• Art and Music
• Authors
• HBCUs
• Activism

It is important for me to note that while we are highlighting African Americans and significant historical events during this period of time, we recognize that one cannot separate Black history from American history as a whole. Though we are choosing to highlight and celebrate certain African Americans and Black culture throughout Black History Month, it is important to us that students learn about famous, and not so famous, African Americans through our regular curriculum and in their own exploration of history. If you have a story to tell about your own history or have someone you would like to highlight in our morning meeting, please let your child’s teachers know, and if you have any questions, you can reach out to our school counselor, Leslie Jo Tottenham at ltottenham@atlncs.org.  

Just a little background on how Black History Month was started. Historian, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, was concerned by what he viewed as scholarly neglect or misrepresentation of his people. In 1926 he announced the second week of February to be “Negro History Week.” This week was chosen because it marked the birthday of both Abraham Lincoln and Fredrick Douglas. Black History Month has been observed in America since 1976, but is also celebrated throughout the world, including Canada and the U.K.

As always, I am happy to answer any questions you may have. Enjoy the remainder of your week!

Wishing you well,

Lara

Lara Zelski

Lara Zelski began working at ANCS in 2001. Previously, she worked at the Howard School and taught art, Spanish, reading and math. She taught 6th, 4th, and 2nd in DeKalb County. She taught 4th and 5th grade in Decatur and then moved to Title One reading and math instruction for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. She taught 5th grade at the ANCS elementary campus for two years.