One initiative is the introduction of a calendar of cultural identities that the school will celebrate monthly. This year, we are doing a soft rollout of these monthly cultural identity celebrations. We strive to honor and celebrate all identities, and creating a plan to do so will help bring these, often marginalized, identities to the forefront of our consciousness, not just during the specific celebration month.
The current calendar includes:
- August – Diverse Families and Self
- September – Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA)
- October – LGBTQ+ Pride
- November – Indigenous Heritage
- December – Latine & Hispanic Heritage
- January – Jewish Heritage
- February – Black & African American Heritage
- March – Neurodiversity & Disability Pride
- April – Multiethnic Heritage
- May - AANHPIDA Heritage
- June & July – Yet to be determined by the DEIJ Committee. If you have an identity that you would like to nominate for the TAS cultural celebration calendar, please reach out to E-chieh directly at linec@tas.edu.tw .
It is our hope that celebrating these identity months can expand in future years in divisions, classrooms, with families and beyond.
Another way we are celebrating diversity at TAS is by identifying a selection of holidays from the many religions and cultures represented in our community.
There are many religious, cultural, and ethnic groups represented in our diverse community. We hope to honor 2-3 celebrations per group throughout the year.
The Schoolwide DEIJ committee has prepared a non-comprehensive list, which you can see below.
If you self-identify with a group that celebrates one of these holidays, we would love to hear from you. Which holiday do you celebrate, and how? Are we missing a major holiday that you celebrate? If so, could you share with us the holidays you celebrate?
This list is not yet final, so if you would like to share your feedback, please email me at linec@tas.edu.tw about which holiday you would like us to consider adding, and how you like to celebrate.
Sincerely,
E-chieh Lin
Holidays for Consideration
- Indigenous People’s Day in Taiwan
- International Indigenous Peoples’ Day
- Rosh Hashanah
- Yom Kippur
- Mid-Autumn Festival δΈη§η―/ Chuseok
- Indigenous Peoples’ Day in the US
- Dia de los Muertos
- Diwali
- Transgender day of Remembrance
- Jain New Year
- International Human Rights Day
- Hannukah
- Christmas
- Kwanzaa
- Lunar New Year
- Lantern Festival
- Tet New Year
- Holocaust Remembrance Day
- 2/28
- Ramadan
- St. Patrick’s Day
- Passover
- Good Friday/Easter
- Vaisakhi
- International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (IDAHOBIT)
- Buddha’s Birth
- Juneteenth
- Dragon Boat Festival