The Performance
Families gathered for 45 minutes to learn about the event from middle school emcees and our head of school, watch class performances, and sing community songs.
We started by sitting in silence. We broke the silence by singing We Shall Overcome as a community. This song is known as many different things, a folk song, a protest song, or even an unofficial Civil Rights anthem. We asked our community to think about what this song means to them as we sat in silence and when we all sang together.
Video of the Performance
Songs performed:
- Community Sing – We Shall Overcome
- Kindergarten – Be the Change… by Marc Kaplan (5:30)
- Grades 1-4 – Simple Gifts… by Joseph Brackett Jr., FSMN arrangement (8:00)
- Grades 1-4 – O Colored Earth… by Steve Heitzeg (10:10)
- All School – A Million Dreams from The Greatest Showman… by Benji Pasek and Justin Paul, arr. Roger Emerson (17:00)
- Middle School – Resilience… by Abbie Betinis (24:15)
- Middle School – There is Peace… by Jim Papoulis (27:00)
- Bayou and Tundra Presentation… 3rd and 4th grade students (33:10)
- Community Sing – Only When It’s Dark… by Jake Alexander (42:50)
In this particular political moment–when fear, division, and denial seem to dominate the headlines–our commitment to these values matters more than ever. It matters that we teach our children to recognize injustice and to name it. It matters that we live with clarity and purpose. It matters that we steward not just the land, but the future.
And yet, in the face of so much urgency, we gather tonight not with despair, but with hope. Because we know the power of community. We know the strength of truth. And we know that when we move together rooted in love, simplicity, and a deep sense of shared responsibility transformation is possible.
– Joe Mueller, FSMN Head of School
Excerpt from his speech given during the FGRJ performance
Student Projects – The Exhibition
Kindergartners and Grade 1 and 2 Students
The project invites us all to consider:
"What is kindness? How do we spread it? How does it connect to racial justice?"
The project was documented on a bulletin board. Community members attending FGRJ reviewed the documentation and submitted suggestions on the board.
Meeting for Worship
Teachers and our Kindergarten and grade 1/2 students also used meeting for worship as a time to reflect on kindness to self and others.
The Quaker Testimony of Stewardship, calls us to steward, or take care of, not just the things of the earth, but relationships to others, and to ourselves. When we're faced with challenges big or small, it can be especially difficult to prioritize stewardship of our own light, just when we need it most.
A Query,
"Ask yourself, how does being kind to myself help me and the people around me?"
Student Voices
Over the course of the project, teachers documented student quotes.
"Without kindness there would be only anger and sadness."
- Mississippi student
"BLM is an example of both [racial justice and kindness]."
- Prairie student
"It doesn't matter if you are black or white you should be treated with fairness and kindness."
- Mississippi student
"They [racial justice and kindness] are connected when you're standing up for yourself or someone else, you can get more people to say, 'This is not right.' "
- Forest student
"If you are going to be kind, you should be kind to everybody."
- Prairie student
Grade 3/4 Students
The Rise and Fall of Gubble Bum is about a corporation that says they support sustainability and environmental justice, but they are really just about profit. There is a group of kids who want to save the forest and help animals and there are animals that ask for help.
The vignettes ended with students sharing the following reflections:
“Creating and performing this play was fun, but it also gave us the opportunity to think about our own lives.”
“When are we like the animals who depend on the forest? When are we like the kids who enjoy the forest, but don’t depend on it? When are we like the gum company exploiting the land?”
“Do we look out for people who depend on the resources of a particular neighborhood or landscape even when we don’t [depend on those resources] ourselves?”
Middle School Projects
Stop Motion Animation – Guided by Emily
The Seeds We Sow – Guided by Mike
Simplicity Through Clothing Repair – Guided by Meg and Shahzore
Stewards of Today – Guided by Chrissy
Picking Up Trash in the Hamline Midway Neighborhood – Guided by Egohsa
Storytelling Banners – Guided by Esly and Linda
