Quincy School Committee Open Forum Letters/January 8, 2025 Meeting
Dear Honorable Mayor Thomas P. Koch,
My name is Nell Valle and I am a member of the Quincy community working with AAPI teenagers through my work with Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center in Quincy. I am disappointed I am unable to attend the meeting tomorrow. This is my letter to support making Lunar New Year a holiday in the school calendar.
The significance of Lunar New Year is to honor the calendar and tradition of Chinese and other Asian communities. It should be recognized on the school calendar because it would be supporting a great number of the school population as well as honoring it as a holiday equal to New Year's and other winter holidays.
Lunar New Year is centered around a coming together of family and loved-ones. It symbolizes a fresh start, family reunion, and a wish for prosperity and good fortune in the coming year. Many times, a wonderful feast and parades happen. As with holidays similar to this, planning, travel, and rest are all involved as it is a big tradition and celebration for AAPI families.
We have come so far in creating spaces for everyone. This action would be a great step in continuing to uplift AAPI youth, families, and community in Quincy.
Thank you for your time and consideration. Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions.
Nell Valle (she/her)
Youth Outreach and Engagement Associate
BCNC
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Happy New Year, School Committee members!
My name is Kim Horrigan; I have 3 kids in QPS
I grew up as a Chinese immigrant and attended QPS since 2nd grade (Montclair, Atlantic, and North). Actually just had our 25th High school reunion last year. I am proud to have raised my kids in this city but I have been so disappointed for the past 4 years and baffled why we still haven’t passed Lunar New Year after getting the Mayor and the City Councilors support.
I want to be the voice for my own 3 kids, among the 40% of the students in our Quincy Public schools who identify as Asian. I want to be their voice because they can’t be here tonight and they might not have had an opportunity to stand in front of you for the past 4 years to hear the rejections from this committee but I am so moved to see our non-Asian neighbors and those who don't celebrate the LNY stand with us in support of our cause, because they too, also know how important it is to give these kids a voice.
I know all parties want the best for our students. Tonight is my first appearance, but I have been supporting this effort for the past few years in various ways and have reviewed many recordings of these meetings. I hear considerations from both sides. However, I hope we can persuade this committee tonight to make a change for the better, As schools propose their improvement plans to embrace diversity and inclusion, I am hoping that the City of Presidents can pave the way and set an example to other cities to embrace inclusion and diversity in our schools and to vote to celebrate this very special holiday for our Asian students.
I plea with you, please don't treat the Lunar New Year as a sick day, it's not an excuse. It's a celebration of thousands of years of culture shared between the old and young generations. On this special day, Asian families celebrate by spending the days in preparation, cooking, and feasting.
It is very easy for kids nowadays to lose their identity under peer pressure and feel the need to fit in. Please don't take this holiday from these kids, this is something that GIVES these students their identity. Please empower our students to be proud, to be their own individual, and to celebrate their holiday! As I remind my kids all the time, they are not only Irish, but they are also Chinese too.
Please help our kids have a sense of ownership for a holiday that defines their culture and say to them “You may not celebrate Christmas, but your holiday is equally as important”. If you can address this need for the 40% of the student body that we are discussing now, then you did a great job as a school committee.
Thank you for listening and for your consideration. I hope this is not just a checkbox in an open forum, but that you you truly heard my words.
I appreciate your time,
Kim
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Hello Mayor Koch,
Lunar New Year is a special celebration rooted in centuries of tradition. It marks the beginning of the new year for Asian Americans, a time that symbolizes renewal, prosperity, reflection, family and togetherness. Families gather and celebrate with reunions. Having a day for us to celebrate recognizes the importance of this day to the Asian American community.
There are a few states including California and New York as well as cities/towns in Massachusetts that recognizes Lunar New Year day.
I support the efforts to recognize this day as a holiday for the Quincy community and included on the school calendar.
Thank you for your time.
Trish Ng
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Dear School Committee Members,
I am writing you as the parents of two future public school children who are half Vietnamese and love to celebrate Lunar New Year with their whole family. I personally make sure to take photos of them in traditional outfits and make a headdress to match my daughter’s ao dai every year. The foods, the red envelopes, the happiness, all mean so much to them and my husband’s family, and have come to mean a lot to me too.
Quincy has a large Asian population that should be included and respected whenever possible. Lunar New Year is the big holiday of the year, akin to Christmas in the Western tradition. If there was a city where 30% of the population (and growing!) wanted to celebrate Christmas with their families, I’m sure you’d hope the holiday and the respect that goes along with it would be granted. So it is with Lunar New Year.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Heather Doney