We are gearing up for our 27th annual Feast of Remembrance on Tuesday, November 21, 2023.  More information about the logistics of the event leading up to this celebration will be coming soon, but we thought it was a good idea to share how this Hayground tradition started.

The tradition of the Feast of Remembrance started in the early days of Hayground when our community of parents, faculty and other Haygrounders discussed how we could honor and share the Native American perspective of the celebration. 

So, guided by one of our founders and an elder of the Shinnecock Nation, Elizabeth Thunder Bird Haile (great grandmother of three of our current students Lily, Suki, Neempaui), we decided to help all Hayground adults and children recognize and remember that there is much more to this story and what followed than a friendly harvest meal shared by early English colonists and members of the Wampanoag tribe. 

Our mission to this day includes a commitment to diversity and sensitivity to other cultures. In fact, one of our daily goals is “thinking about and from different perspectives.” Through age appropriate readings and discussion, the teachers will help the students understand the perspective of the Native American. Our intentions were deliberate when we called this day the “Feast of Remembrance.”

Along with the celebration, many of the traditions like the Remembrance Wall and the Roll Call of Hayground graduates will also continue.

We plan to begin the meal about 11:00 am, but we invite families to come by 10:00 am. There will also be a short program before the meal. Please RSVP so we can plan.