Women's History Month

This Women’s History Month Federal Way Public Schools joins the national celebration of contributions women have made to the United States over the course of American history.

Throughout March our schools will celebrate with assemblies, art projects, musical performances and more. We want to share these experiences with the entire District, so be sure to email photos to socialmedia@fwps.org.

At FWPS we believe each and every scholar has limitless potential and are committed to ensuring all scholars, of race, class, linguistic background, disability, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, and other exceptionalities, thrive and achieve at the highest levels.

This belief is woven into the education of our children by including the achievements of women in March, and all year long.

View additional recognitions in the FWPS Cultural & Religious Calendar here: https://www.fwps.org/culturalcalendar

Women’s History Month celebrations and honors at Silver Lake Elementary School

FWPS is excited to celebrate and honor women’s history this month. Our scholars will be learning about women, their stories, and impacts they’ve made. They’ll be highlighted in our libraries and books, school social media, hallways with displays, in classrooms through presentations and assignments, and in assembly performances.  

Over at Silver Lake Elementary, in Ms. Morganfield’s class, scholars are reading about important women in history books and presenting to their peers what they’d learned. On a hallway board with descriptions of “terrific”, “brilliant”, and “dynamite”, peers displayed their reports of the inspiring women and shared their stories to the class.

Silver Lake scholars also had time to learn and reflect about the women who have influenced their lives. Mrs. Rhea-Hicks had her scholars identify, visualize, and illustrate a woman in their life they look up to and why. Scholars named incredible women like Rosa Parks and Simone Biles because of their activism and hard work ethic. Some scholars even chose Mrs. Rhea-Hicks herself as a woman they appreciated and are inspired by! Because of amazing teachers like Mrs. Rhea-Hicks, our scholars feel empowered to learn, thrive and succeed.

Over at Silver Lake Elementary, in Ms. Morganfield’s class, scholars are reading about important women in history books and presenting to their peers what they’d learned. On a hallway board with descriptions of “terrific”, “brilliant”, and “dynamite”, peers displayed their reports of the inspiring women and shared their stories to the class.

Silver Lake scholars also had time to learn and reflect about the women who have influenced their lives. Mrs. Rhea-Hicks had her scholars identify, visualize, and illustrate a woman in their life they look up to and why. Scholars named incredible women like Rosa Parks and Simone Biles because of their activism and hard work ethic. Some scholars even chose Mrs. Rhea-Hicks herself as a woman they appreciated and are inspired by! Because of amazing teachers like Mrs. Rhea-Hicks, our scholars feel empowered to learn, thrive and succeed.

Silver Lake scholars also had time to learn and reflect about the women who have influenced their lives. Mrs. Rhea-Hicks had her scholars identify, visualize, and illustrate a woman in their life they look up to and why. Scholars named incredible women like Rosa Parks and Simone Biles because of their activism and hard work ethic. Some scholars even chose Mrs. Rhea-Hicks herself as a woman they appreciated and are inspired by! Because of amazing teachers like Mrs. Rhea-Hicks, our scholars feel empowered to learn, thrive and succeed.

Women’s History Month at Lake Grove Elementary

“This month, we are learning more about the women in history!”, is Assistant Principal Janet Genord’s first sentence at their morning assembly. At Lake Grove Elementary, scholars hear about different remarkable women at their morning assemblies and discovering more about women’s contributions throughout history. During this assembly, scholars learned about Harriet Tubman, who is perhaps best known for her work with the Underground Railroad and was an activist for women’s rights later in life.

Students also see a diverse array of women of multiple professions, races, and ethnicities on display thanks to Lake Grove’s dedicated library staff. Miss Young and Mrs. Mobley spoke about their motivations and what they wanted the school’s scholars to take away from the presentation. Mrs. Mobley said, “I wanted to have women from different groups and different cultures. I wanted girls to see and be represented to find themselves, and [understand] that they don’t have to be a certain fit.” Ms. Young added that the importance of sharing women role models throughout the library and its book selection is to empower all our students to be inspired by the incredible achievements, leadership, and strength that women represented throughout all cultures and history has contributed to and to elevate our richly diverse community of scholars to thrive and succeed.

Lake Grove staff are committed to our goal for scholars to see themselves reflected in their schools. During assemblies and in schools’ hallways, Lake Grove Elementary is pursuing that ambition so scholars can see and realize their limitless potential.

Kilo Middle School Students Inspired by Their Research of Women in History

In Ms. Howard’s class at Kilo Middle School, scholars received the assignment to research a notable woman in history and share it with the class. Students made this task their own by focusing their research on women who inspire them personally, and some chose to share their learning with the class in the form of artwork they created.

Eighth-grade scholar, Evelyn, pictured above right, discovered more about 27-year-old Katya Echazarreta, an electrical engineer working for NASA and the first Mexican-born woman to travel into outer space. Evelyn chose Echazarreta because, “[she] stood out as a young engineer and as the first Mexican-born female in space. And I like space and want to be an engineer, so she inspires me.”

Seventh-grade scholar, Lynasia, pictured below and center, recounted to her class the accomplishments of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court Justice, and the first Jewish woman to hold the position.

Ms. Howard is proud of her class, commenting, “Women's History Month is important to spotlight in class so students can learn about amazing women and their accomplishments. So many have had such a tremendous impact and it's great to make those connections and recognize their feats.” Her students put effort into their research, and the women they presented on motivated and inspired them. Kilo staff and scholars exemplify FWPS’ goal for scholars to be engaged and empowered critical thinkers who see themselves in their assignments and school curriculum.

FWPS High Schools Share Encouragement and Appreciation During Women’s History Month

Throughout the month of March, FWPS schools have highlighted historic and significant women in our classrooms and events. Todd Beamer High School (TBHS) and Federal Way High School (FWHS) participated in these learning activities and then took the additional time to continue to celebrate, encourage, and empower the women that walk their halls.

Tenea Jones, TBHS Dean of Students stated that “I wanted to provide scholars an opportunity to uplift each other, view some encouraging messages, and to just celebrate the women around them.” Therefore Ms. Jones posted up an encouragement wall for others to write their encouraging notes and posts to fellow classmates and create a space for scholars “to share what it means to empower themselves and how they empower those around them.” The wall filled up instantly with words of support and inspiration like “be true to you”, “you made it this far, keep going!”, “you are enough”, and many more heartfelt quotes, phrases, and illustrations. 

The positive momentum continued with TBHS holding a spirit day for Women’s History Month, and students showed up in pink and purple headpieces and other ways to represent and celebrate the women who inspire them.

Over at FWHS, scholars had a special way to show support and appreciation for the women in their daily lives. On International Women’s Day on March 8, the FWHS Russian/Ukrainian Club took the time to hand out flowers to female staff members throughout the school. The club started giving flowers back in 2010 and it has been an annual event since. Club advisor Dina Pavyluk says, “it’s a way to celebrate all the women in the community, and it’s become a tradition, something the staff and scholars look forward to, and it always brings a smile. It has allowed scholars to be seen in a different light and with their unique strengths.”

To go along with the flowers is a card that is specially made for the year’s event. This year, club member Vita created the illustration for the card, a beautiful drawing of a rose bunch.

FWPS is proud to see students learn more about women in history, their impact, and go on to empower and recognize the women who support and inspire them daily. It’s a goal of FWPS to promote thriving, confident, responsible individuals. Seeing our scholars’ efforts to make a difference to those around them is a demonstration of our amazing staff and scholar community following through to cultivate a brighter future for all.