May is AAPI Heritage Month, as we celebrate the contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in our community. Driscoll School has always been deeply connected to these cultures because of our Mandarin program, the only K-8 school in Brookline where every student has the opportunity to learn Mandarin starting in Kindergarten. One of our students' favorite Driscoll traditions is the annual Lion Dance on Lunar New Year (which we were even able to celebrate "virtually" this year).

To celebrate AAPI Heritage Month, our Mandarin department has put together a video Read Aloud of the Caldecott Award winning picture book "A Big Mooncake for Little Star" by Grace Lin. Thanks to all of the teachers, specialists, and staff members who each joined in to read a page or two! Here is the link for the video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1K8k9KbT9Hi8LmvB5cvKh2zW_s2r0YfsU/view

Our Mandarin teachers and K-8 students have also been working to make a poster to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month, which is now on display outside the Library. Middle school students used what they learned in Mandarin class to research members of the AAPI community and wrote introductions in both English and Mandarin. K-5 students cut their own hand shaped paper and wrote down their goals for a better community. They even put a mirror in the middle of the poster to show that students can see themselves among these people. Both students and teachers found this to be an empowering and meaningful learning experience, and everyone had a great time making the poster!

We want to thank all of our students who worked so hard this month, and everyone who joined in the Read Aloud video. Special thanks to parent volunteer Marina Bottiglieri for all her help making this happen! Most of all, we would like to thank Wang Laoshi and Wu Laoshi, since none of this would have been possible without their dedication and leadership!