Teacher Margaret's "View From My Window" - October 31st

Dear Westfield Friends,

Happy Halloween! Happy Diwali! Happy Bandi Chor Divas! This has been a month of celebrations of faith, birthdays, and accomplishments. Thank you to Vinita Ganju and Krupa Ruparel.  They joined us for Meeting for Worship to explain to our students why Hindus celebrate Diwali. We learned of family traditions and why lighting lamps have so much meaning in this festival.

Saturday’s Boo Bash was a huge success. I think 80-90% of our community came to play, eat candy, and vote on the best displays. If you haven’t heard, 8th grade’s Game of Clue was the big winner. 3rd grade came in a close second with its Haunted Pet Rescue theme, followed by PreK’s Going Batty.

Thank you to everyone who came to our Preschool Two and Preschool Three Parade. We had children ready to lead the parade, children happy to walk with their parents or teachers, and a few who were content to watch and cheer from the side.  Stay tuned for more photos to come.

The election is around the corner. I hope that everyone eligible to vote, votes. The historian in me is all too aware that in the 1790s only a very few taxable property-owning men had the right to vote. Interestingly, New Jersey widows who owned property were able to vote until 1807.  Women have already started leaving their “I voted” stickers on Alice Paul’s grave in our cemetery. If you don’t know who Alice Paul was and why she is so central to the 19th Amendment which gave women the right to vote in all elections, you can learn more about her here. The 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920. However, the first woman to serve in Congress was Montana’s Jeanette Rankin who served in the House of Representatives from 1917-1919. Women in Montana and 26 other states could vote before 1920. In ou own New Jersey women had to wait for the 19th amendment before they could vote.

Thank you for sharing your children with us.

Warmly,

Margaret Haviland

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