Finley Promotes Universal Human Rights in December

All across the world, December is Universal Human Rights Month. The J. Taylor Finley Middle School community observed it during an extended advisory period. Homerooms read through and discussed the importance of the No Place For Hate pledge before signing on to the school’s motto: Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible.

“Each homeroom’s letters were combined to form the banner that now hangs in our Blue Zone,” said English/ENL teacher Alison Capewell, who is the No Place for Hate club’s co-faculty advisor along with school librarian Carmen DiBartolomeo. Then, students watched a Ted-Ed video on human rights and read through several articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”

Students used digital Post-Its to discuss and reflect on these rights. “Students asked insightful questions and made important connections between the No Place For Hate pledge and universal human rights,” Ms. DiBartolomeo said. “Finley Middle School has partnered with the Huntington Public Library, who have been providing different extension activities to connect to each month’s theme.”

Universal Human Rights Month is an annual designation observed in December. “This month and every month to follow, people all across the globe are encouraged to come together and stand up for equality, justice, and the dignity of all humans,” according to the National Day Calendar.

Finley students will have an opportunity during their lunch periods this month to create multicolored bracelets, with each bead representing one of the thirty universal human rights. Students have also been provided with a UN flag and an infographic with the bracelet kit.