Hello MTS staff, students, and families! This year for Black History Month, MTS will be holding an event named Rise: a spoken word, poetry slam, and rap showcase. During this event, poetry written by students will be showcased. Students also have the opportunity to present poetry that has had an impact on their lives.  Some students will be presenting their writing live on the zoom call, while others will have pre-recorded videos for us to watch. 

As many of you know, Black History Month was initially a week-long event. But in 1976, president Gerald Ford recognized February as Black History Month. Ever since then, we celebrate Black History Month every February by learning about important African Americans in history. This year, the staff at MTS was trying to figure out how we could celebrate this important month during distance learning. Then, Ms. Baxter, the new Special Education teacher at MTS, presented the idea of a poetry slam. This idea was echoed by one of the parents at MTS, and thus, Rise was born. Terry Brown, an English teacher at MTS, has been working hard to organize everything. “When Mr. Fondow presented the idea to me, I thought it was an awesome outlet for students to speak their thoughts and show their talent. We have so much talent at this school and I’m so excited for students to showcase their skills,” he told me. The name of the event, Rise, came from the idea that our students and community have had so much to overcome this year after the murder of George Floyd and the destruction of our school, all during the time of COVID. After such a year, we have a lot to be proud of and a lot to celebrate, and this event is an opportunity to share our students’ voices with the world. 

This event will be held on Thursday, February 25th at 3:15. The zoom link was sent to all student emails. A recording will be published of the event if you miss it. Submissions will be open until Tuesday, February 23rd. If you have any questions or want to participate please email Mr. Brown at [email protected]. If you choose to participate, you’ll be added to a class called Poetry Club and will meet on Wednesdays from 3:30 to 4:30.

Please see below for a slideshow of student artwork celebrating Black History Month.

Gallery • 6 Photos