- Santas or Christmas items (clip art) on worksheets
- Christmas trees in classrooms
- Elf on the Shelf — that's Christmas-related
- Singing Christmas carols
- Playing Christmas music
- Sending a Scholastic book that is a Christmas book — that's Christmas-related
- Making a Christmas ornament as a gift —This assumes that the family has a Christmas tree which assumes they celebrate Christmas. I challenge the thought of, "Well they can just hang it somewhere else."
- Candy Cane — that's Christmas-related. Historically, the shape is a "J" for Jesus. The red is for the blood of Christ, and the white is a symbol of his resurrection. This would also include different colored candy canes.
- Red/Green items — traditional Christmas colors
- Reindeer
- Christmas videos/movies and/or characters from Christmas movies
What was the principal's reasoning?
Sinclair — who's in her first year as Manchester's principal — noted in the memo that she "come[s] from a place that Christmas and the like are not allowed in schools" and that "as a public school" Manchester Elementary will be seek to be "inclusive and culturally sensitive to all of our students.""I have unknowingly awoken a 'sleeping giant' with many of you," she added. "I apologize for the stress that 'Christmas/holiday/ Grinch/Santa/tree' emails and conversations have caused you."
What items were allowed?
The "acceptable practices" included:- Gifts to students
- Students making a gift for a loved one
- Snowmen, snow women, snow people, snowflakes
- Gingerbread people
- Holidays Around the World — purposeful presentation of information to teach about different cultures
- Sledding
- Hot chocolate
- Polar Bears
- Penguins
- Scarves, boots, earmuffs, and hats
- Yetis
- Olaf — "Frozen"
"Please reflect on what you've already copied, prepped and posted," Sinclair concluded. "I'm hopeful we can avoid the discomfort of me directly questioning something you've copied, posted and had your kids do. That makes me uncomfortable, and I know it doesn't feel good." She signed the memo, "The (Unintentional) Grinch who stole Christmas (from Manchester)."
What happened next?
Liberty Counsel sent a demand letter to the superintendent of Elkhorn Public Schools about the Christmas ban, urging it to "immediately overrule and specifically disavow the sweeping directive banning Christmas holiday items, and require Principal Sinclair to undertake review of District policy and the law."How did the district respond?
Believe it or not, the district's response to Liberty Counsel said it had "investigated this matter and determined that Principal Sinclair's memorandum did not comply with Board Policy" and that Manchester staffers were advised that "certain Christmas symbols" are permissible.What did Liberty Counsel have to say?
"We are pleased that Elkhorn Public Schools promptly reversed Principal Jennifer Sinclair's unconstitutional directive, and required compliance with the Constitution," Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, said in a statement. "The First Amendment does not require elimination of Christmas. Nothing prohibits public schools from teaching objectively about Christmas or other holidays with religious significance, from displaying religious and secular Christmas symbols side-by-side or singing sacred and secular Christmas songs together. The First Amendment prohibits censorship based on religious viewpoint. This outrageous three-page memo by Principal Sinclair was not based on ignorance of the law but hatred toward Christianity and Christmas. Principal Sinclair should issue an apology to her teachers and staff."Sinclair on Wednesday didn't immediately reply to TheBlaze's request for comment on Liberty Counsel's statement.
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