About Us
Community
Diversity, Equity, Belonging
Diversity, Equity, Belonging
Harborlight Montessori actively seeks qualified students, faculty, and staff to reflect the diverse backgrounds of our community. Harborlight provides an enriching curriculum and educational experience for all students, recognizing that global teaching and learning help form strong, positive self-concepts and develop respect for human differences. Harborlight’s curriculum and philosophy encourage understanding and respect for these differences while affirming the fundamental similarities of humankind. Our cooperative community protects and encourages the exploration of new concepts. It also honors and nurtures the curiosity of each child.
All members of the Harborlight community are valued for their contributions, talents, and opinions. The philosophy, curriculum, and administration of our programs aim to create an inclusive learning environment with respect to economic background, gender, gender identity and expression, race, national and ethnic origin, cultural heritage, religion, sexual orientation, disability, marital status, and political beliefs. Harborlight integrates diversity and character education into each learning opportunity to empower students to actively approach each new experience with courtesy and acceptance.
+ DEB Committee
The Harborlight DEB committee consists of a group of Harborlight community members (board members, parents, teachers, and administrators). The DEB committee assists in advocating, supporting, addressing, and encouraging Diversity, Equity, and Belonging within the Harborlight community. We work voluntarily to ensure everyone feels included, respected, and supported.
+ Harborlight Montessori Inclusivity Framework
The Harborlight DEIB committee created an Inclusivity Framework in 2020. This document is a policy statement outlining the approach used by teachers at Harborlight Montessori when talking to students about race, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, and other types of differences and identities. The purpose of this document is to develop a consensus about how to approach these topics in the classroom. We believe that all people are worthy of respect and kindness. All of us have things that make us similar to each other and things that make us different from each other. We each deserve to feel valued and appreciated for who we are and how we identify. We all deserve to be treated with respect and kindness, no matter what makes us similar to, or different from each other. Our work to build an inclusive community includes implementing strategies to help children understand their own identities, building an appreciation of diversity, and equipping children with the skills they need to address injustice.
Below you will find the most recent version of Harborlight's Inclusivity Framework as a downloadable PDF.
Below you will find the most recent version of Harborlight's Inclusivity Framework as a downloadable PDF.
DEB Blog
By Harborlight’s Diversity, Equity and Belonging Coordinator,
Beatriz Mueller
Beatriz Mueller
List of 14 news stories.
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Black History Month
Read More“Despite the profound change in race relations that has occurred in our lives, Carter G. Woodson’s vision for black history as a means of transformation and change is still quite relevant and quite useful. One thing has not changed. That is the need to draw inspiration and guidance from the past. And through that inspiration, people will find tools and paths that will help them live their lives. Black Resistance is the Journey towards Equality.” National Museum of African American History & Culture -
Lunar New Year
Chinese New Year or the Lunar New Year will be celebrated on Wednesday, January 29th. Also known as the Spring Festival, it is one of the most important holidays in China going back hundreds of years to the Han dynasty. It is the beginning of spring where new beginnings are celebrated, and ancestors and deities are honored. This culminates 15 days later in the Festival of the Lantern. This year, 2025, is designated as the year of the Wood Snake in the Chinese zodiac. “The Snake represents wisdom, knowledge, intelligence, intuition and creativity. Snakes are also associated with good luck, prosperity, fertility and longevity. In some legends, snakes are considered divine messengers and guardians of sacred places. Snakes are also revered for their ability to shed their skin and renew themselves, symbolizing transformation and rebirth.” – The South China Morning PostOne legend holds that the monster Nian (which rhymes with year in Chinese), would eat crops, livestock, and people. To keep him away, families would place food on their doorsteps. When they heard he feared loud noises and the color red, people began decorating their doors and windows with red lanterns and scrolls, as well as dressing in red. They would set off loud firecrackers and fireworks to scare Nian away. For good fortune, they gave children gifts of coins in red envelopes and ate dumplings.Homes are cleaned and new clothes are bought. Friends wish each other happiness, wealth, and longevity. Home decorations include paper-cut outs and lanterns. Families share meals at home. “The New Year’s Eve dinner is the most important meal for Chinese families. It is customary for fish and dumplings to be served. These two dishes mean “prosperous.” New Year Cake made with glutinous rice flour mixed together with some sugar is popular in Eastern China. Tang Yuan, made from glutinous rice flour mixed with a small amount of water to form small balls (filled or unfilled), is cooked and served in boiling water. It is traditionally eaten on the last day of Chinese New Year’s festival.” Timothy S.Y. Lam Museum of AnthropologyRed scrolls with gold or black writing of spring couplets (short poems called chunlian) with themes such as nature, history, and culture, as well as gratitude, happiness, and prosperity are hung as decorations on the walls, doors, and windows.Here are a couple of examples of chunlian from InstantMandarin.com:Chūn xiǎo (春晓) Spring Morning by Meng Haoran (689-740) of Tang DynastyChūn mián bù jué xiǎo, 春 眠 不 觉 晓,This spring morning in bed I'm still lying,chù chù wén tí niǎo, 处 处 闻 啼 鸟。not to awake till the birds are crying.Yè lái fēng yǔ sheng, 夜 来 风 雨 声,After one night of wind and showers,huā luò zhī duō shǎo, 花 落 知 多 少。
how many are the fallen flowers?Yì jiāng nán (忆江南) Dreaming of the Southern Shore by Bai Juyi (772-846) of Tang DynastyJiāngnán hǎo, 江南好Fair Southern shore,Fēngjǐng jiù céng ān. 风景旧曾谙。With scenes I adore.Rì chū jiāng huāhóng shèng huǒ, 日出江花红胜火,At sunrise riverside flowers redder than fire,chūnlái jiāngshuǐ lǜ rú lán. 春来江水绿如蓝。in spring green waves grow as blue as sapphire,Néng bù yì jiāngnán? 能不忆江南?Which I can’t but admire.“How do you say Happy New Year in Chinese? The most common way in Cantonese is to say san nin faai lok, and in Mandarin, Xīn nián kuài lè.” From the South China Morning PostHere are some links to learn more about Chinese New Year.Here is a list of delightful children's books that capture a rich sense of tradition and the renewal that arrives with the new year and the spring celebrations.Chinese New Year Colors (Board Book) by Richard Lo, ages 0-3: Celebrate Lunar New Year with a rainbow of traditions in this bilingual board book! Welcome to the festivities of the Chinese New Year, where symbolic gifts, foods, and objects come together in a celebration of beautiful colors.Bringing in the New Year by Grace Lin, ages 3-6: Grace Lin brings the Chinese New Year traditions to life through the eyes of a young girl and her family as they prepare for their family New Year celebrationAmy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon by Kat Zhang and Charlene Chua, ages 3-6: Amy loves craft time at school. But when her teacher asks everyone to make their own dragon, Amy feels stuck. After school, a story from Grandma sparks new inspiration, and Amy rounds up her family to help her.Bringing in the New Year by Grace Lin ages: 3-6: Grace Lin brings the Chinese New Year traditions to life through the eyes of a young girl and her family as they prepare for their family New Year celebration.My Chinatown by Kam Mak, ages 6-9: It's a New Year in Chinatown, but one little boy from Hong Kong wonders, "How can it ever be a good year thousands of miles from home?" As he moves through the seasons, however, New York finally begins to feel like home. Told in verse, these poems capture the challenges of adapting to a new life from a child's point of view.New Clothes for New Year’s Day by Hyun-Joo Bae, ages 6-9: A little girl gets ready to celebrate the Lunar New Year in this gentle and stunningly illustrated book first published in South Korea. Excitement mounts as she details how she dresses for this engaging celebration with universal appeal.Case of the Goblin Pearls (Chinatown Mystery, No. 1) by Laurence Yep and Nicholas Krenitsky, ages: middle school: When Aunt Tiger Lil comes to Chinatown, she and Lily, her niece and namesake, prepare for the New Year's celebration, solve the mystery of a stolen pearl necklace, and help a sweatshop worker.In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lor and Marc Simont, ages: middle school: Meet Shirley Temple Wong, a delightful heroine who has come from China and arrived in Brooklyn in 1947 — the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson. Based on the author's own experiences, the story captures the highs and lows of coming to live in a new country, learning English, and falling in love with the Brooklyn Dodgers during moments that are both heartbreaking and hilarious.To all our families who celebrate the Lunar New Year, may good fortune and well-being come your way in this Year of the Snake! -
MLK Day
This coming Monday, January 20th, we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. – Minister, Nobel Prize Peace Winner, Civil Rights Activist, and Leader. Click to read moreRead More -
Winter Holidays
Read MoreWinter is fast approaching, and people around the world are celebrating a variety of special holidays, including the Winter Solstice, Yule, Kwanzaa, Christmas, Hanukkah, and the arrival of the New Year. The cold and longer nights encourage us to bring warmth and joy into our hearts and homes. We are inspired to share time and celebrate with family and friends, remembering that even in the midst of darkness, we can find joy and light. Click to read more -
The Story of the First Thanksgiving
The story of the first Thanksgiving as it has been told and continues to be told, is a disservice to the truth and to those most affected by this: The First Peoples of this nation. Thanksgiving, also known as a National Day of Mourning to many Native Americans, is a reminder of the disease, oppression, and genocide that the arrival of the colonial settlers brought. “Native American people who first encountered the "pilgrims" at what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts play a major role in the imagination of American people today.Read More -
Halloween
Read MoreYesterday, October 31st was Halloween. Also known as All Hallow’s Eve, it grew out of the Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in) which marked the end of the summer. For the friendly souls of the dead, people would leave food by the side of the road and light candles to help them find their way back to the spirit world. It also marked the beginning of the cold, dark winter. Land contracts were renewed at that time and the Celts believed that the spirits of the dead returned to earth, while the souls of those who had died that year journeyed to the underworld. Bonfires were lit atop the hills to frighten away evil spirits and sometimes masks were worn to confuse them. With the Roman conquest of the Celts, Samhain merged with the Feralia festival in which the Romans commemorated their dead. With the influence of Christianity, the church blended and replaced many ancient Celtic rites. -
Indigenous People's Month
Read MoreNovember is Indigenous People’s and Alaska Native Heritage Month. The theme for this year is “Affirming Native Voices: Visibility, Leadership, Service”. We honor the tapestry of achievements and the cultural and historical legacies of the First Americans who were the original inhabitants of what is now the United States and their descendants: the American Indian and Alaska Native people. We acknowledge that we are on the ancestral, unceded lands and traditional territories of the Massachusetts People. Theirs is the Indigenous Nation from whom the present-day Commonwealth of Massachusetts took its name. -
Día de muertos
Día de muertos or Day of the Dead is a traditional 3-day holiday celebrated throughout several Latin American countries from October 31st through November 2nd, dating back over 3,000 years to the pre-Hispanic Inca, Maya, and Aztec civilizations. It is rooted in the devotion to, honor and worship of ancestors and deceased loved ones. Their souls or spirits are welcomed back as they return to visit us in the world of the living.Read More -
Diwali
Diwali celebrations begin on October 31, 2024, the 13th day after Poornima, or the full moon. Dhanteras, the first day of Diwali, is a combination of the words dhan, which means “wealth” and teras, which means “thirteenth day”. Marking the beginning of the 5-day celebration of Diwali or Deepavali (from Sanskrit, which means row of lights), it is the Hindu New Year.Read More -
Indigenous People’s Day
On Monday, October 14th we observe Indigenous People’s Day. Established in Berkley, California in 1992, it coincides with the arrival of Columbus in 1492. Many cities and states began adopting the day and finally in 2021, President Biden was the first U.S. President to formally recognize this holiday, acknowledging the importance of honoring our Indigenous Ps also known as the First Peoples.Read More -
Yom Kippur
Read MoreThis coming weekend, beginning at sundown on Friday, October 11th through Saturday, October 12th at sundown, Yom Kippur will be observed by Jewish people around the world. -
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This year’s theme is “No One Should Face Breast Cancer Alone.”Read More -
Rosh Hashana
Rosh Hashanah, the 2-day celebration of the Jewish New Year, begins Wednesday, Oct 2, 2024, at sundown and ends on Friday, Oct 4, 2024 at sundown. These are the first two days of the Jewish month of Tishri and the beginning of the 10 days of Awe, culminating in the High Holiday of Yom Kippur.Read More -
Hispanic Heritage Month
¡Feliz mes de la Hispanidad!Read More
September 15th through October 15th is Hispanic Heritage Month, coinciding with several Latin American countries celebrating their days of independence. This year’s theme is “Pioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together.”
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About Harborlight
Harborlight Montessori is a non-profit, private, independent, school for students from Preschool through Grade 8.
Middle School, Elementary, Preschool, Afterschool, Summer Programs, Vacation Week Programs
Middle School, Elementary, Preschool, Afterschool, Summer Programs, Vacation Week Programs
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