Tag: school visits

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One of the things I like most about my job is variety. Some days I sit at my computer and write; on others I take a blanket and a manuscript to the couch and revise. Often I hang out in libraries, and occasionally I visit scientists in their various fields to watch and learn and wonder. And then, as if all this weren’t variety enough, I pop into schools here and there, meeting students of all ages, sharing my stories, hearing theirs.

Last Friday was one of the latter, and I spent it at Marlborough Intermediate School talking to kids about oceans and science. As they did last year, the Marlborough sixth graders inspired me with their thoughtful questions and wowed me with descriptions of their independent researches. These kids are testing bridge designs, studying earthworms, wondering about organic vegetables, and helping people like me know exactly how long a tea bag should steep.

A hearty thank you to all my friends at Marlborough Intermediate Middle School (soon to be Marlborough 4-7 School), most especially my lovely hostess Cathy Rosenstock, for another great visit. I look forward to seeing you all again in 2011. And an extra-special thank you to the C.I.T.Y. Kids, who created the welcome posters (see sample above) decorating my office this week!

 

A big shout out to my new friends at the Ahern Middle School in Massachusetts. It was fun talking to you about writing and science and TRACKING TRASH yesterday. And a hearty thanks to Mrs. Cathy Robbins, sixth grade language arts teacher extraordinaire, who coordinated my visit … and then patiently re-coordinated it when my ladybug research got in the way of our original date. I appreciate your flexibility and patience, Cathy.

The Ahern sixth graders and I got a little carried away with our question and answer session (loved this!), which meant that by the time I got out to the parking lot, my car was surrounded by big, yellow school busses. As I sat and watched those busses load up and ship out, it struck me, for the first time this spring, that the the 2008-2009 school year is on its way out.

You know what this means, right?

Summer!

And I think I’m just about ready. How about you?

 

Photo by Andrea Thackeray

I was invited to the most amazing luncheon yesterday. It was with the fiesty bunch of fifth and sixth graders in the picture above, readers and writers from Paxton Center School in Massachusetts. I spoke to their classmates in large groups earlier and later in the day, but it was my time with the lunch bunch that I will remember most…

As readers, we talked for a long time about our favorite books and favorite authors: Lois Lowry and Ellen Klages and J.K. Rowling and Pseudonymous Bosch and Linda Urban and so many others. The excitement around that table as we talked about books would have made every single author mentioned proud … and each of us left with a couple new titles on our Must Read lists.

As writers, we talked about strategies for working on our craft. It turns out that finding time to write is just as hard for eleven and twelve year olds as it is for forty year olds! We shared stories of rejection (my heart still goes out to you, Emily!) and triumph (hooray for completed stories!) and agreed that despite all the pitfalls, finding time to write our stories is worth the effort.

Many thanks to my new friends at Paxton Center School, and to their teachers, for inviting me over for the day. Special thanks to Alice, who sent a letter I’ll cherish for always.

Happy reading! Happy writing!

 

There is something special about being invited into a school community. Each one is entirely unique, and I am always intrigued by the glimpses I am given into a place that is new to me. Last Friday I got a second invite into the Runkle School community, and saw again many examples of students giving their Runkle best. (Don’t you just love that phrase?)

My visit fell during the school’s annual Music and Arts festival, which meant I was treated to gorgeous art displays and live music during my stay. Although not technically part of the festival, I snapped this picture of the quilt hanging in the school library. Isn’t it lovely?

Science teacher Maxine Hunter challenged her students to keep a plastic journal for the twenty-four hours leading up to my visit, and I was impressed with the student response. Rachel, a sixth grader, recorded 158 ‘plastic encounters’ (another Runkle phrase I adore). The journals got students thinking about plastic in new ways; Rachel wondered why a glow stick that is used for a few short hours is made out of plastic that will last for decades. It’s a good question.

Thanks to librarian Teresa Gallo-Toth, who coordinated my visit to Runkle (and sent me home with some great ideas for read-alouds to share with my kids), to Science Coordinator Janet MacNeil, who shared her wisdom and told me about this cool Understanding Science website, and to all the staff and students I met during my stay; I had a Runkle good time!

 

Photo by Pat McEachen

I spent last Friday with fourth, fifth, and sixth graders at Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Boston. I am still not tired of sharing the TRACKING TRASH story with young readers, and I am especially thrilled when a group of kids who don’t have any idea who I am or why I am in their classroom leave school thinking hard about ocean pollution and how to address it.

One student asked during my presentation why concerned scientists couldn’t simply use a plastic magnet to pull floating plastic debris out of the ocean. I told him it was a good idea, but someone needed to design an object that would attract plastic the way a magnet attracts metal. He was not entirely satisfied with this answer, and I watched him chew on it throughout the rest of my talk.

Later, at a luncheon for me and twenty-some student writers, we talked about writing and science and, of course, trash. (They brought it up, I swear; I do not force trash conversations over lunch!) Anyway, the boy with the magnet idea spoke up (I’m paraphrasing his thoughts here):

“I’m still thinking about the magnet. First, it’s not that I am obsessed with magnets. It’s just that I had a sliver under my thumbnail yesterday and was thinking how useful a splinter-attracting magnet would have been. And when I heard you talk about small plastic pieces floating in the ocean, I thought how useful a plastic-attracting magnet would be.”

I let him keep going, because this kid was GOING …

“So, I’ve been thinking. What if we put metal into plastic, so that it was easier to collect with a magnet?”

Okay, let go of the logistical limitations such an idea might have and just marvel at the fact that this young man is thinking hard about solutions to the ocean plastic problem. Could miniscule metal shavings be incorporated into plastic recipes? I have no idea. But if they could, a giant magnet being pulled through the ocean might someday be able to collect floating plastic debris in a way we humans are currently unable to collect it. This germ of an idea is brilliant, and I would not be surprised if its young creator figures a way around all the pesky logistics.

Thank you, Solomon Schechter Day School, for inspiring me. You are a thoughtful and intelligent bunch, and it was my pleasure to spend a day with you!

 

Photo by Eunice Swanson

Isn’t that a beautiful collage? It was created by students and teachers at The Sage School, where I spent two days celebrating Earth Day last week. Each member of the school community created a cutout of their footprint, inscribed it with their best wishes for how to better treat the planet, and added it to a massive wall hanging celebrating Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling.

In addition to seeing this collage in the making, and learning about the school-wide Trash-Free Lunch Day, I spoke with students about my adventures in the field (Pre-K through grade 1), the writing process (Grades 2 through 4), and the science of TRACKING TRASH (Grades 5-8). For each presentation I had the honor of being introduced by a student; thank you Tom, Lexi and Jonah for your hard work and kind words.

The surprise of the visit came when I met Allie and Stephanie, sisters who happen to know my childhood hero, Mr. James Micarelli. Mic taught ninth grade biology back at Everett High School, and he inspired me. So much so that I dedicated TRACKING TRASH to him, which is why he comes up so often in my school visit talks. Imagine my delight when Allie introduced herself to me as Mr. Micarelli’s great-niece! I met Stephanie the next day and posing for this picture was a thrill for me. Thank you, girls.

I shared thoughts and ideas with so many writers and scientists and beekeepers and conservationists while I was at The Sage School; it was, to me, the perfect way to celebrate Earth Day. Many thanks to Eunice Swanson, who organized my visit and sent photographs, and to the staff and students who made this visit memorable … and who treated me to some new Sage essentials:

 

On Friday I visited Marlborough Middle School in Massachusetts, where I was lucky enough to …

Talk to three hundred forty sixth graders about TRACKING TRASH;

Shake the hand of science teacher Laura Kirshenbaum, who purchased my visit for her students at a charity auction and is helping those same students color Marlborough Middle School green;

Meet librarian Cathy Rosenstock, who managed every detail of the day, including a tasty homemade lunch served on a real plate;

Lunch with the creative, intelligent, and talented youth in the C.I.T.Y. Kids program, who made me the excellent signs of welcome decorating this post and, now, my office;

Hear about exciting research projects conceived and conducted by students;

Catch up with my good friend and fifth-grader Natalie, who I have known since before she was born.

Thank you Marlboro Middle School … it was a pleasure to spend a day with you!

 

The town of Winchester, Massachusetts totally knows how to throw a book party. Last Thursday the entire town celebrated Authorfest, an annual event in which every public school student at every grade level has the opportunity to meet an author in their classroom. Twenty local authors participated, zipping from school to school and chatting with students about their work and their books. I was one of these lucky authors.

I met with fifth graders at Ambrose School in the morning and talked with them about the making of TRACKING TRASH. I was thrilled to hear how my presentation tied in to some work they are doing in science class. (Good luck with those discovery bottles, Ambrose!)

Later in the day I spoke with fourth and fifth graders at St. Mary’s School. Although these students heard the same presentation, they took our Q&A in an entirely different direction, asking all sorts of interesting questions about the places I visit while researching books. (Thanks for those questions, St. Mary’s!)

When the school day ended, all twenty authors convened at Winchester Town Hall, where our books were on sale to the public. We sat at a looooong table and signed books for students and their families. While surrounded by these folks:

David Biedrzycki

Maryann Cocca-Leffler

Jacqueline Davies

Karen L. Day

Kathleen Benner Duble

David Elliot

Mark Peter Hughes

Judith Jango-Cohen

Steve Krasner

Allen Kurzweil

Brian Lies

Susan Lubner

Scott Magoon

Dan Mahoney

Jeff Nathan

Barbara O’Connor

Heather Panahi

Nancy Poydar

Jamie Spencer

and their hundreds of amazing children’s books, it was hard not to feel a little shy. Lucky for me, though, we were seated alphabetically, which put me right next to David Biedrzycki (pronounced beh-DRICK-key). David doesn’t really allow shy. He forced me to practice my schmoozing techniques. I am not kidding. He whispered talking points into my ear as I signed books. He even drew this little cartoon to cheer me on:

Drawing by David Biedrzycki!

Can I just say for the record that it is hard to schmooze when you are sitting next to an Ace Schmoozer and he is drawing funny things on the tablecloth, making children giggle, and signing books by the stack all at the same time?

It was a pleasure to meet so many young book lovers, reconnect with fellow book creators, and make a new friend or two. Thank you to the entire town of Winchester, and most especially to Ceci Cordeiro and the many, many parent volunteers who made this celebration totally rock.

Happy reading!

P.S. #1
You can see some photos from the massive Authorfest sighing over at Barbara O’Connor’s blog.

P.S. #2
If you book school visits in the Massachusetts area, the list above would be a great place to begin your search for talented local authors and illustrators.