Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors know that last year Oliver Ames had it’s first annual DJ Henry Day to celebrate the life of a member of the Easton Community who lost his life. It is also used to help educate students on the important topic of racism and how it affects the members of this and every community.
Students who participated in last years events will already have an idea of what to expect because it will follow a similar structure this year. The block will start out with a few videos, from both outside sources and the Henry family. These videos will then be followed by a google form filled with discussion prompts for students to answer. Once the class is ready, we will all come back together to have a discussion about the videos, the prompts and anything else related to the topic that students might want to speak about. The discussions will be facilitated by ADL Peer Leaders in most classrooms. The Peer Leaders have spent 2 full school days in intensive training programs this year to prepare for this and other events. Seasoned veterans of the Peer Leaders already have experience with DJ Henry Day as they also helped to facilitate discussions last year.
As previously stated, the first DJ Henry day took place last year. However, it took place online during one of the schools fully remote Wednesday’s. Mr. Auger, who is helping to run the event, says of having it in person this year, “I think that anytime you can be physically present you can increase the quality of the dialog”. It is of course, important to create a safe environment for students to feel comfortable speaking about these important issues, which is what the Peer Leaders have been training for for 3 years now.
While this day is used for education and awareness, it is also used as a day of remembrance to honor the legacy of DJ Henry. Mr. Auger believes that “DJ Day at OA is a day to recognize the impact DJ had on our school and the community of Easton.” When asked what he hopes students get out of this day he answered, “Our goal is to promote acts of kindness, service, and love. We are hopeful that this day honors his legacy through respectful dialog that inspires students to serve their neighbors in DJ’s memory.”
DJ Henry Day is intense and inspiring. If you are impacted by this event and want to know more about how you can become more involved in the community, Mr. Auger advises, “There are many ways to get involved, depending on which issue(s) you feel most connected to. At OA, we have many clubs and organizations, whether the goal is service or social justice. We have our ADL Peers, our Wednesday advisory Safe Space, Multicultural Club, Leo Club, Club United, Empowering Stories, OA Kids for Wish Kids, School on Wheels, We Do Care, and more. (See Clubs link for descriptions and advisors) There are also many outside groups, specifically the RMK Youth group.”