Past projects 2
Reader's Club
Funded Dec 16, 2022I would - or we would- like to express our gratitude for funding our second project and ensuring our students had books for our book club. Our students had been begging for a book club for awhile, and thanks to you we were able to engage in a second round with a great title, The Girl in the Lake. We had selected this novel with particular care as we wanted to address our students' interests with stories and characters that were exciting, highly engaging, and above all culturally relevant.
In addition, most of our students have little in the way of personal libraries, and it was really important that they would be able to keep the book. We've had so much funmeeting, talking and learning in a relaxed environment, and they are already making a plan for next year. They have built relationships and learned how amazing it is to share the love of a good story and just talk about books. Thanks to you, this book club is just the beginning for many of them - as they now know that adults often meet to do the same thing!
Finally, writing this letter is a bit of a bittersweet experience as one of our generous donors passed away. In fact I discovered that the project had been funded afterwards. I am so grateful as are the students. What we do for our students really does affect eternity.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Brown
This classroom project was brought to life by an Anonymous Classroom Supporter and 5 other donors.Our Reader's Club
Funded Oct 26, 2022Our Bethune Readers have so enjoyed reading and talking about The Forgotten Girl by India Hill Brown. So much so in fact that they have brought friends and what started as a book club of about 10 has grown to 18! And we have all discovered so much! Through the story many of us have learned about forgotten graves and segregated cemeteries in the South, step teams, and folk tales and legends. We have had conversations about racism in forms that seem subtle, the existence of ghosts, relationships with siblings and things that have absolutely nothing to do with the book at all. In other words, our students have experienced a real book club.
Our meetings are simple: we read, we eat, and we talk. I have incorporated other activities as well: hiding questions and talking points throughout the library, researching old graves, Blooket and Quizziz, however I wanted to avoid creating a classroom experience and give the students the opportunity to experience the joy of reading for fun, and talking about it. The students were surprised when they were told they were keeping the book! As I mentioned earlier, most of our students don't have new books at home and haven't been to a bookstore like Barnes and Noble. Being able to come together as a book club has been a wonderful experience!
All of our members have been enjoying The Forgotten Girl. One young lady, Angel, read through it so quickly and asked to get a head start on Hill's next book, The Girl in the Lake! The main character in the book is on a step team. We watched videos of step team performances, and for the school's Black History Celebration night, three of our book club members performed a dance as a trio. It was lovely. One of the most poignant results of the book club is that it is filled with students who don't hang out together at all, and didn't know each other, but who are now friends. We have a very large school, but for one afternoon a week we find time to get together, learn about each other and share the love of a good story. And that couldn't have happened without your generous donation and support.
I thank you so much.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Brown