Fall Library Events at St. Johnsbury Academy
Poetry Outloud Contest
Poetry Outloud Contest
One of our favorite and best-attended events in the library this past semester was the poetry declamation contest initiated and planned by the English Department in honor of a former faculty member, Graham Newell. It was held on Parent’s Night, which brought more parents than usual to the library. Over ten English classes participated in this National event (http://www.poetryoutloud.org/) coordinated as a first annual event at the Academy by English teacher Angela Drew. Two Academy student winners will proceed to the State level contest and hope to win an expense-paid trip to Washington, DC, to compete at the national level.
Capstone Conference Day/Silent Art Auction
Each student at the Academy prepares a Capstone project in their senior year. On December 4, over 100 Capstones were presented on campus during the course of the day. Juniors and seniors could rotate through the various venues to see their fellow students’ presentations, and the library was one of the busiest venues on campus. A Capstone project highlight later in December was Hannah Spero’s silent auction in honor of her mother, an award-winning photographer, who died from melanoma when Hannah was 8. Faculty, staff and students contributed art projects for the silent auction, and the art works were displayed on low shelving in the library. A student violinist played music in the background and cookies were served just like in a big-city gallery. As a backdrop, Hannah prepared a multimedia presentation about her mother and the disease which took her mother’s life. The event was attended by several hundred students and faculty members, and raised more than $600 which Hannah donated to an organization that funds melanoma awareness.
Odyssey Book Presentations at the Library
The last week of school the English department again used the venue of the library for the grand finale for a fun Humanities project. Freshman Humanities students worked in small groups over the previous weeks to prepare a physical book which retold the Odyssey as a modern story. Each book was formally presented to the library staff as if the students were trying to sell it to an editor for publication and to the library staff for inclusion in the collection. The students prepared posters, book blurbs, and even bribes (in the form of chocolate kisses palmed off to library staff with goodbye handshakes!). The library staff was impressed by the variety of abilities and skills the students honed working on this project: imagination, creative writing, drawing, graphic design, teamwork, marketing, and presentation and public speaking skills.
Recommend a Book! Contest
Our newest staff member, Caitlin Smith, who comes to us with experience at Powell’s Bookstore, initiated this contest. The students responded enthusiastically and quickly. She gave the students a month to recommend from one to three books, prepared an eye-catching display, and posted the 24 book recommendations as they were submitted. We displayed copies of the recommended books if we had them, and if not, we ordered a copy or the entire series. The books and recommendations were displayed in a popular seating area of the library and more than half of the student-recommended books were checked out while the contest was underway!
Caitlin Smith and the student who won the $25 gift certificate to a local bookstore
by Linda Wooster, SJA Library Director lwooster@stjacademy.org (802- 751-2100)
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