One Book One Radnor Summary
October 2016
Kick Off with the Philadelphia Zoo
We began with a visit from the Philadelphia Zoo in June to Kick Off the program in a memorable way. They presented two assemblies and focused on habitats and endangered animals.
RHS launches One Book, One School with 'Endangered'
The Radnor High School library opened its doors to Radnor Township School District students for a Tech Soup event on August 13. Students explored virtual reality with Google Cardboard, tried Ozobots and fooled around with Makey Makey Kits to play SuperMario while using bananas as the controller. TechGirlz, a nonprofit dedicated to reducing the gender gap in technology occupations, also presented a coding event for girls in grades 6 and up.
The Radnor High School, Radnor Middle School and Wayne Elementary School libraries, in an effort to help fill the gap left by the closure of the Radnor Memorial Library, will be open to the general public and co-staffed by RTSD and Radnor Memorial librarians on select dates throughout the summer. Click here to learn more.
The Radnorite
Radnor High School's community-wide reading program "One Book, One Radnor" hosted a Family Night for community members on October 4 in the RHS library. More than 30 attendees enjoyed a book discussion around coffee and dessert and a presentation by guest speaker Gigi Glendinning.
Gigi Glendinning grew up in a family that embraced nature and encouraged a love of the outdoors. Her parents always welcomed animals into their home and helped animals in need. It was a common occurrence to aid baby birds that had fallen from their nest, welcoming dogs onto the furniture, and inviting the classroom pet as a guest over the holidays. The family took vacations in locations surrounded by wild animals and binoculars were always on hand.
Glendinning spoke about her experience helping pets during Hurricane Katrina, working with orphaned orangutan's in Borneo, and elicited discussion about how we don't have to be experts to do our part to give back.
The "One Book, One Radnor" program launched in June 2016 and is the school's first-ever, community-wide reading initiative. The effort, supported by the Radnor Educational Foundation and the RHS Parent-Teacher-Student Association, strives to encourage students, staff, parents and community members to read the same book at the same time, creating a large-scale book club to promote reading for enjoyment and foster community and school discussions.
This year's chosen book, "Endangered," a two-time National Book Award Finalist and the first book in the Great Ape quartet by Eliot Schrefer, is meant to elicit buzz around topics such as animal rights, race, politics and the environment.
Other "One Book, One Radnor" events included a visit by the Philadelphia Zoo in June, and RHS Library Programs in July and August. The "One Book" program will end with an author visit from Eliot Schrefer on Friday, October 21. He will conduct two assemblies (9-10 and 11-12th grades), host a luncheon, and conduct a Q&A forum with book signing in the library.
Radnor High School concluded its first-ever, community-wide reading initiative, "One Book, One Radnor," by welcoming Eliot Schrefer, the author of the chosen book "Endangered," to visit with students and community members on Oct. 21. Mr. Schrefer discussed his book at two assemblies in the morning then led a Q&A session and had lunch with select students later in the day.
The initiative, spearheaded and coordinated by RHS librarian Michelle Wetzel and teachers Trevor Payne and Alexis Swinehart, was launched in June 2016 with support from the Radnor Educational Foundation and the RHS Parent-Teacher-Student Association. It sought to encourage students, staff, parents and community members to read the same book at the same time, thus creating a large-scale book club to promote reading for enjoyment and foster community and school discussions.
"Endangered" is a two-time National Book Award Finalist and the first book in the Great Ape quartet. Set in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the book features a close relationship between the main character, Sophie, and an infant bonobo, Otto. Sophie visits her mother at a sanctuary for bonobos and meets Otto, for whom she soon feels responsible. An armed revolution then breaks out in the country and the sanctuary in attacked, forcing Sophie and Otto to escape unprepared into the jungle and struggle together to keep safe, eat and live.
Other events that occurred during the initiative included activities in the RHS library in July and August and a Family Night and Book Discussion with Gigi Glendenning in September.
How Was One Book Incorporated Into Classrooms?
-Endangered Species Artwork was created and is currently hanging at Administration Building and on display in High School Art cases.
-Kate Farnon and I developed a cross curricular thematic unit around the book. She addressed types of primates and habitats in science and I addressed language, culture, economics, and geography in English and Social Studies. The students also read and were instructed on graphs and charts related to Africa and the Congo in their math class. I created an adapted text for our population and we added to the text as I read excerpts from the book. The students loved this program! Michelle W. came and co-taught a class. The students were engaged in the zoo and author program. I really can't give enough positive feedback to this initiative- it made our class feel truly connected with the school community as learners.
-Science and the Environment: read and analyzed article about Endangered and Author read and analyzed research article about Bonobo and Bipedalism did group PowerPoint presentations on Bonobo behavior, Habitat, feeding, conservation and the sanctuary.
-Life skills science: Read and discussed current event about Bonobo Completed a bonobo coloring activity Completed Venn Diagram comparing Bonobo and Humans Played bingo by answering bonobo facts.
-Dr Dan Cane connected with students and teachers around his area of expertise, social and emotional learning. He used his past experiences at the Pittsburgh Zoo, with attachment- based play therapy and neuropsychology to highlight areas of the curriculum associated with the book in English, Biology, and Emotional Support Program.
-The school newspaper, The Radnorite, featured an interview with the author conducted by student, Ritvik Prabhu.
-Marketing: created flyers to spread the word. They also created commercials for the Morning Video Announcements.
-Public Speaking: created an audiobook, each student recorded a different chapter.
-World Literature – Students were required to read Endangered for summer reading. Students discussed the role of the setting, character development, and the author’s writing style. The novel was also used to connect to World Studies Africa unit. Additional short stories from African writers were analyzed and connected to themes in Endangered.