Springhill Lake Students Celebrate Women’s Day

Fifth-grade girls gathered in the butterfly-decorated gym in their nicest dresses, ready to host about 40 Greenbelt women for the annual Women’s Day celebration Friday morning.

The women were treated to a catered breakfast and entertainment by the students. Then, the selected chorus sang Gloria Estefan’s “Reach” and Mariah Carey’s “Hero,” followed by a dance performance by one of the guests, Angella Foster. After the ceremony, the women were asked to visit a classroom to read a book or poem to students.

The tradition to celebrate women with their own unofficial holiday at has been going on for more than a decade. It is an event often organized by the school’s assistant principal, and each year they add their own special twist.

“The theme this year was ‘Our History Is Our Strength’ and immediately, I don’t know why it came to me, but the butterfly came to me because it began as something else and grew into this beautiful creature,” “So I made the relationship with our history, as the beginning, and this beautiful outcome, the butterfly.”

Throughout the ceremony, six fifth-grade girls presented biographies of women in history.

“I’m in the classrooms all the time … so we know which girls speak up and which ones are shy,” Dunn said. “So I chose girls that I thought were eloquent enough, but at the same time had something that I could start with and have them grow in to.”

Foster, artistic director at Alight Dance Theater in Greenbelt, performed an excerpt from an original piece, “Speechless,” during the ceremony.

“It was funny because (the girls) talked about Helen Keller, and the piece I performed was about my cousin who does not communicate through verbal language,” Foster said, who read a book to a first-grade class about Helen Keller following the ceremony.

Foster said she really enjoyed being a part of Women’s Day because she thinks it’s important for the students to see all types of women, those who work and those who stay at home with families.

“It’s important to say we’re women in your community and we support you — it’s a sense of celebrating them,” she said. “We’re only here for a few hours, but that counts because people’s time is important.” Foster also directs the Children’s Dance Program at the .

As an attendee and journalist, I got to particpate in the Women’s Day festivities too. Following the presentations, I was escorted to Ms. Arn’s kindergarten classroom to read, “America’s Champion Swimmer: Gertrude Ederle,” by David A. Adler.

I surprised myself when I read the picture book at a right angle in order for the kids to get a better view. And I asked questions of the 5-year-olds to keep them engaged. I walked into the classroom, not really sure what I would say to the students, and wound up not only learning more about a woman in history, but also having fun with the kids.