December 23rd, 2017
21ST CENTURY CLASSROOM
City school students wander to ‘Wonder’
By TESS BASHAW
Special to the Messenger
“When given the choice to be kind or be right, choose kind.”
— Dr. Wayne Dryer
ST. ALBANS — At St. Albans City School, the fourth through sixth grade teachers spend a lot of time talking about the important messages they want to give to their students. Reading, writing, and math, are of course relevant to everything we do, but citizenship is central to who we are and who we want to help our students become.
Many of the teachers here have read the book “Wonder,” by R.J. Palacio. We have used it as a read aloud, passed it out to our students for independent reading and small groups to share, and we have even showcased it as the theme of one of our summer humanities camps. So, what better way to share the simple message of kindness the book conveys than to take everyone on the grades four through six teams to see the movie?
“Wonder” is about an elementary- age boy who has a condition equated wth Treacher Collins Syndrome — which causes him to have facial differences. The boy had been homeschooled, but was enrolled in a middle school by his parents. The story explores his experiences at school while navigating friendships and bullying.
It was thrilling to find the Weldon was willing to open up its doors and let us bring in 200-plus students. That is one of the great things about our community, we support one another and most importantly, our children.
On a chilly December morning, a mass of fourth, fifth and sixth graders made the trek up to the center of St. Albans. Although the morning was cold, students laughed, chatted and even sang as they made their way across town.
St. Albans residents are not unused to seeing groups of our students headed to or from school, or on walking field trips. The mood was excited.
For all the noise on the way up, once the movie started, the theatre was silent. The movie was an emotional roller coaster. We laughed, cried and shared feelings of outrage and joy together. There were points when you could hear and see students around you weeping, but when asked if they would see the movie again, students were unwavering in their support of the film: “‘Wonder’ shows us that you should not bully or have fake friends.”
“‘Wonder’ shows you that you should look at people on the inside, not just by the way they look on the outside.” “I cried, but it was a good cry.”
We all had a ‘wonder’ful time and hope that the movie reminded everyone of the simple joy that comes with kindness. We also wish that kindness upon everyone as we celebrate the holidays and look to the new year.
--Tess Bashaw is a fourth through sixth grade teacher at St. Albans City School.
City school students wander to ‘Wonder’
By TESS BASHAW
Special to the Messenger
“When given the choice to be kind or be right, choose kind.”
— Dr. Wayne Dryer
ST. ALBANS — At St. Albans City School, the fourth through sixth grade teachers spend a lot of time talking about the important messages they want to give to their students. Reading, writing, and math, are of course relevant to everything we do, but citizenship is central to who we are and who we want to help our students become.
Many of the teachers here have read the book “Wonder,” by R.J. Palacio. We have used it as a read aloud, passed it out to our students for independent reading and small groups to share, and we have even showcased it as the theme of one of our summer humanities camps. So, what better way to share the simple message of kindness the book conveys than to take everyone on the grades four through six teams to see the movie?
“Wonder” is about an elementary- age boy who has a condition equated wth Treacher Collins Syndrome — which causes him to have facial differences. The boy had been homeschooled, but was enrolled in a middle school by his parents. The story explores his experiences at school while navigating friendships and bullying.
It was thrilling to find the Weldon was willing to open up its doors and let us bring in 200-plus students. That is one of the great things about our community, we support one another and most importantly, our children.
On a chilly December morning, a mass of fourth, fifth and sixth graders made the trek up to the center of St. Albans. Although the morning was cold, students laughed, chatted and even sang as they made their way across town.
St. Albans residents are not unused to seeing groups of our students headed to or from school, or on walking field trips. The mood was excited.
For all the noise on the way up, once the movie started, the theatre was silent. The movie was an emotional roller coaster. We laughed, cried and shared feelings of outrage and joy together. There were points when you could hear and see students around you weeping, but when asked if they would see the movie again, students were unwavering in their support of the film: “‘Wonder’ shows us that you should not bully or have fake friends.”
“‘Wonder’ shows you that you should look at people on the inside, not just by the way they look on the outside.” “I cried, but it was a good cry.”
We all had a ‘wonder’ful time and hope that the movie reminded everyone of the simple joy that comes with kindness. We also wish that kindness upon everyone as we celebrate the holidays and look to the new year.
--Tess Bashaw is a fourth through sixth grade teacher at St. Albans City School.