<div dir="ltr"><div>Thank you for the prompt reply!</div><div><br></div><div>My only other question is how is space being held for atheists during cultural celebrations of any sort that have religious connections?</div><div><br></div><div>RJ<br></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Tue, Nov 1, 2022 at 9:05 AM Boucher, Thor <<a href="mailto:bouchert@sfusd.edu">bouchert@sfusd.edu</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr">Good morning, <div><br></div><div>Yes, we have an altar for dia de los muertos, which is a cultural and teachable opportunity for students to express their culture and heritage. This is school-wide and a part of our Latino/a Heritage celebration.</div><div><br></div><div>Kelly's costume yesterday was worn on costume/fantasy day, which is imitating cultural traditions and could be interpreted as mockery. </div><div><br></div><div>If Kelly was wearing her costume as an expression of her faith, I am sure we can hold space for her to share that with her class/school. If it was worn as a costume that imitated someone else's beliefs, that would be considered cultural appropriation. </div><div><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">
</font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Calibri"><font size="3"><span style="color:black">Best,</span></font></font></p><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Calibri"><font size="3"><span style="color:black"><br></span></font></font></p><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Calibri"><font size="3"><span style="color:black"><i>~Dr. Thor</i></span></font></font></p><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt"><span><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/E15PSgqyoVRZn8jxI5hQbUsQHBfz0LowCQFVcOpbLg83l7iL2dVgGh_iyaDxUU-z5Gtu3xpIH_YK_BuFQRGkmK2mpzZALqG8E6wNOKuX2DhfjATu2LqKAtDUde07jX0owTdE_5v7" style="border: medium none;" width="96" height="96"></span><b><font face="Calibri"><font size="3"><span style="color:black"><br></span></font></font></b></p><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt"><b><font face="Calibri"><font size="3"><span style="color:black">THOR</span><span style="color:rgb(139,139,139)">BOUCHER, Ph.D. </span></font></font></b><br></p><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt"><span></span><span style="color:black"><font size="3" face="Calibri">Principal,</font></span></p><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:medium;color:black">Monroe Elementary School</span><br><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:medium;color:black">San Francisco Unified School
District</span><br></p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">
</font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt"><span style="color:black"><font size="3" face="Calibri">260 Madrid Street</font></span></p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">
</font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt"><span style="color:black"><font size="3" face="Calibri">San Francisco, CA 94112</font></span></p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">
</font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt"><span style="color:black"><font size="3" face="Calibri">O: 415.469.4736<br></font></span></p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">
</font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt"><span style="color:black"><font size="3" face="Calibri">E: </font><span style="color:blue"><font size="3" face="Calibri"><a href="mailto:bouchert@sfusd.edu" target="_blank">bouchert@sfusd.edu<br></a></font></span></span></p><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt"><span style="color:black"><span style="color:blue"><font size="3" face="Calibri"><a href="mailto:bouchert@sfusd.edu" target="_blank"><br></a></font></span></span></p><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt"><font style="background-color:rgb(0,0,0)" size="3" face="Calibri" color="#ffffff"><i>"People who are closest to the pain should be closest to the power." ~ Ayanna Pressley</i></font></p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">
</font></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Tue, Nov 1, 2022 at 8:52 AM RJ Johnson <<a href="mailto:rmjwell@gmail.com" target="_blank">rmjwell@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div>Hi, Dr. Thor.</div><div><br></div><div>It was relayed to me that Kelly's Halloween costume had to be amended to remove the wings and halo for concerns connected to religious representations on school property.</div><div><br></div><div>This morning, Frances was telling me that an altar was being put together (I was unclear on if it was in her class or for the school as a whole) and she was invited/asked to bring in a photo of a deceased relative/loved one to display on it.</div><div><br></div><div>Could I ask you to clarify Monroe's philosophy regarding these two situations?</div><div><br></div><div>Sincerely,</div><div><br></div><div>RJ Johnson<br></div></div>
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