Courage Week (27.-31.01.)
https://bit.ly/courageweek-2025-events
What is Courage Week?
Five days of activities for all students at every grade level and a special evening event (Tuesday, 28 January) for the whole community. Courage Week celebrates our school’s diverse community and emphasizes ways we can all help make JFKS a place where everyone belongs. Our theme is “Use Your Voice”. Several teachers will include activities and lessons to highlight Holocaust Remembrance Day, as well as themes related to diversity and inclusion. A Lunch & Learn panel of parents of LGBTQI+ group will advise teachers on supporting LGBTQI+ students. Both the ES and HS libraries will have special features we encourage you to check out. And the School Shop will have student-designed “Be the Change” hoodies available for pre-order!
Overview of Events
The Elementary School student council agreed on dress up days with the following themes:
★ Monday, 27 Jan: Dress up as the most courageous person you know
★ Tuesday, 28 Jan: Dress up as a fierce animal
★ Wednesday, 29 Jan: Dress up like your favorite and most courageous superhero.
★ Thursday, 30 Jan: Show allyship for those who identify as unique by wearing rainbow attire
★ Friday, 31 Jan: Dare to be different by wearing your wildest and wackiest attire.
EC – 1st grade: Songs about kindness with Robert Metcalf, a well-known wordsmith in kids’ music who sells out theaters all over Germany.
2nd – 4th grade: Growth mindset workshops
Book reading & workshop with the author of the book Sams grüner Daumen, Natasha Eliason, and the book’s publisher. Natasha is a learning therapist and good at helping children with a growth mindset.
4th – 6th grade: Demokratie Mobil
A special bus will be on campus delivering workshops giving students an introduction to democracy, helping them see democratic structures in everyday school life, to help make democracy tangible.
6th grade: Sexuality and gender lessons in science class
Students and Advisors from the Gender and Sexuality Alliance will be presenting an engaging lesson about the differences between Gender and Sexuality. This lesson helps answer questions and destigmatize different LGBTQI+ identities.
7th – 8th grade: Gospel workshops with Ingrid Arthur
Ingrid Arthur is a gospel singer from Georgia who has sung with notable people such as Paul McCartney, Bette Midler and James Last. The Gospel Workshop introduces students to real African American Spirituals, music that has inspired much of popular Western Music and is testament to the roots of discrimination that still influence American/Western politics to this day.
9th – 10th grade: Mo Asumang
Mo Asumang presents a film called “The Aryans”, in which she goes on a personal journey to meet self-proclaimed “Aryans” in Germany and the US to understand their views and demonstrate how to engage in dialogue with curiosity. This presentation is supported with generous funding from Schule ohne Rassismus – Schule mit Courage Berlin.
7th – 10th grade: Peer mentorship
Black Student Union and School with Courage students will lead advisory periods covering new Social Justice Standards, introducing their concepts, how they connect to Courage Week and JFKS as a School with Courage, and how they connect to BSU/black history.
11th – 12th grade: Songs of Slavery & Emancipation
Musician and author Mat Callahan presents on newly discovered slave songs revolving around uprising and emancipation.
All Teachers: Panel Discussion: How to support LGBTQ+ students
Elementary and High School Teachers will have the opportunity to participate in a professional development workshop with a panel discussion with students from Gender Sexuality Alliances, parents from Pride Families, and teacher trainers from Queerformat to better understand what teachers can do to support LGBTQ+ students in school.
Courage Week All-Community Event
Tuesday, 28 January, 6 p.m. in the Aula
6:00 – 6:45 pm: Mini-concert with Faye Montana and FIA Marie Lin
Faye Montana is a former JFKS student, movie actress, and successful singer-songwriter dedicated to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. FIA Marie Lin is a 13-year-old who first rose to fame in Junior Eurovision and The Voice. She champions inclusion through her unique blend of signing while singing. They will both be accompanied by JFKS parent Adam Kesselhaut.
7:00 – 8:30 pm: Songs of Slavery & Emancipation
Musician and author Mat Callahan presents on newly discovered slave songs revolving around uprising and emancipation. See here for the film trailer. He is a regular guest lecturer at Boston University and the University of Bern, Switzerland, amongst others. Recommended for mature audiences; ie. 9-12th grade and parents. If anyone is interested in an impromptu post-event conversation, stick around at the end and we can migrate to a nearby restaurant!
Light refreshments will be available – and be sure to check out the Courage Week relevant kids’ books on sale from this publisher as well!
Many thanks to our Hausmeister, the teachers, tech crew and staff for the extra effort they are putting forth. A special thank you to the Verein and Schule ohne Rassismus – Schule mit Courage for their generous financial support of the week’s program!
Courage Week is brought to you by the J.E.D.I. Committee (Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion). Please email with any questions.