Community

SF Day is proud to host student affinity groups to support and celebrate our community's diversity. An affinity group is a designated “safe space,” where all members of a group share a particular identity. This identity can be based on race, gender, sexual orientation, language, nationality, socio-economic class, family structure, religion, and more. The goal of affinity groups is to facilitate positive identity exploration and development towards the larger goal of creating an inclusive learning environment. All participants can use the space for reflection, dialogue, and support.

Here are current affinity groups at SF Day - please contact Loren Moyé or Betsy Brody if you're interested in facilitating a group not currently represented. Thank you!

 

Asian-American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Affinity Group:

Contacts- Kaili Hwang, Celeste Canovas, and Mari Flores (8th grade)

 

FOCUS Christian Affinity Group

Contact: Dele Grillo

 

Jewish Affinity Group

Contact - Aimee Evnin

 

La Familia: Latino/a/x Affinity Group

Contacts: Renée Otero, Hannah Caminos, Laura Garcia, Abe Alvarez

 

Orcas: African-American Affinity Group

Contacts: Ruth Bissell and Laurice Bryant

 

Perfectly Mixed: Multiracial Affinity Group

Contacts: Damian Crosby and Jun Stephens

 

Rainbow Alliance: Rainbow Alliance is for students who identify as LGBTQIA+ and for allies. Anyone and everyone is welcome to join us as we talk about issues the LGBTQIA+ community faces and how we can support them.
Contacts: Dara Carroll and Esther Porcella

 

Transracial Adoptees Affinity Group

Contact: Katherine Odlum Moyé

 

In 2018, several Upper School students asked for the opportunity to create affinity groups such as Students of Color and Jewish Affinity Group. We look forward to continuing to support their growth and learning about their identities and about each other. 

At SF Day, our community members are active, engaged, and participate in opportunities to learn and share various aspects of their identities. As a full school community, we gather regularly, which is often a valuable opportunity to take in a special guest speaker, artist, or performer. In 2019, SF Day welcomed guests including Ballet Folklorico, artist-in-residence Lexy Ho Tai. 

Family members are also a valued resource and part of our community - we often have parents come into the classroom to share family traditions and celebrations such as Nowruz, Dia de los Muertos, and Lunar New Year. 

Each year, SF Day participates in the annual National Day of Silence sponsored by GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network), a day that asks the question, “What will you do to end the silence?”  On the Day of Silence, students across the country are encouraged to call attention to the silencing effect of anti-LGBT bias, bullying, and harassment in schools by taking their own vow of silence.  Students at SF Day show their support with an upper school assembly devoted to this topic, and then are invited to eat lunch at a “silent table” and take a vow of silence in between classes as well.

“I am participating in the Day of Silence because I know that even in the safest environment, anti-LGBT bullying still occurs, and I am doing my part to end the bullying.  I will join the GSA in my high school and spread the word there too.  I have learned that being isolated is very difficult, which is why we must end the silence.”
-Eighth grade student reflection

This group provides families the opportunity to examine topics of equity as they relate to school life and culture. SF Day parents and guardians meet throughout the year and participate in parent/guardian education facilitated by the school.  

This committee supports the school’s efforts to build community through diversity, equity, and inclusion, and acts as a sounding board for admissions and the Co-Directors of Diversity, and supports the school’s administration in DEI endeavors.