What are symbols? What does a symbol mean? How do symbols help a community? These key questions crossed the curriculum for K-6 students and their teachers in Sakinah Circle at Grace Martin School as they participated in a collaborative project called “The Corridor of Dreams”. They learned about the importance of olive trees, baked flatbread, dipped it in olive oil for a snack, tasted olives, and created art. Each student made a leaf to share their dream, and their leaves extended the olive branch which stretched along the corridor at the entrance of the school.
In preceding weeks, students had researched about olives, designed symbols on graph paper, done cross stitch on plastic canvas, written poetry and made digital art with symbols to convey powerful messages. Exploring the power of symbols to communicate gave us a way to talk about Palestine and its beautiful culture; we all learned about tatreez, the keffiyeh, and how the olive branch, the watermelon, the key, and the character Handala have come to represent something more.
Most recently during Ramadan, a month when we seek opportunities to increase our good deeds, teachers in Sakinah Circle initiated a project to help feed hungry children in Gaza. In one short week, students and staff in Sakinah Circle collected $6000! This money was sent to a grassroots organization in Palestine and a week later we received video footage of food being distributed to about 1000 people in 200 family groupings.