Dear Burgundy Families,

This Friday we will once again enjoy our annual Festival of Lights celebration! This event is a special Burgundy tradition, and the only one where the community is treated to performances from each class including every single student. Since its inception, the Festival of Lights (FoL) has included many different cultures and traditions from around the globe as a way for students to learn about people both like and different from themselves and how the theme of ‘light’ represents hope and humanity in each. The overall performance, which runs about 75 minutes, provides an opportunity for us to model things that we value: our diversity, our appreciation for the arts, our commitment to community, and, most important of all, reflection on our shared humanity. Through choral and instrumental pieces, narratives written by students, and dramatic presentations, we are taken on quite a journey, and the event is something of a seasonal and annual rite of passage!

As we do with all our curriculum, every few years we reflect on and review our FoL program in light of our mission and the goals for the FoL: we explore our FoL goals and current contexts and we look to see where improvements can be made. We think about whether or not anything needs to be modified to respond to shifts in cultural/societal norms or the make-up of our community. And we make adjustments and try new material. Our review process has led us to make some important modifications over the last year or two and for this coming year. These changes support our efforts in maintaining our commitment to the spirit and objectives of the festival and we’d like to share our thinking behind some of them.

  • Costume selection/requested attire has become more gender inclusive. We try to use gender inclusive language when communicating with children and parents about what students should wear to FoL. We allow students in each grade to make costume/role choices independent of their perceived gender. A specific example is with 8th graders, who for the last few years have been able to choose their role in the Santa Lucia performance based on interest rather than gender. Students may choose to process and sing or have a speaking part.
  • First grade will sing songs to reflect an additional religious tradition represented in our community, that of Unitarians. These songs share a powerful message of peace, light and tolerance.
  • You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch has become part of a community sing along during a December All School Meeting.
  • The Hanukkah song has been changed to one that is authentically sung by the Jewish community and contains accurate information about the holiday.
  • One of our 8th graders who is fluent in German will be teaching the 4th and 5th grade students how to sing a verse of Silent Night in its original language. This will provide an additional avenue for cultural learning while providing a greater connection to the narrative that is read at FoL sharing that the song was sung by American and German troops in both English and German during the World War I ceasefire on Christmas Eve in 1914.
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Our music teachers have been working with students on their performances for many weeks. Classroom teachers have been sharing background information with students about the cultural/religious traditions that will make up their part of the performance. This integrated learning is a hallmark of Burgundy and one which results in not only an engaging experience for the audience, but also a significant learning opportunity and special Burgundy tradition.

Although the meaning of the Festival of Lights has stayed largely consistent throughout its many years, we will continue to examine this celebration to ensure that we continue to provide a respectful, thoughtful and meaningful experience for the community as a whole.

We look forward to sharing our tradition with you on December 20th at 9:30am in the gym!

With peace and light,
Jeff, Elizabeth, Jared, Pat and the Music Team