In Black & White

Sterling Black Bear football capped off an undefeated season with a 35-34 win over Rossville, clinching the 1A State Title. Congratulations to our Black Bears!

The SJSHS Library hosted a book tasting event for 7th graders where they were challenged to browse books and try some new genres. The activity was run by Mrs. Jodi Grove from Stafford schools, who completed her library practicum this semester with Mrs. Brownlee as her mentor. Mrs. Grove is a December graduate from Ft. Hays State University with a Master of Science degree in Education and a Library Specialist endorsement.

During literature circles class, Sterling Grade School fifth-and sixth-graders spent six weeks participating in the Global Read Aloud, a program where teachers team up with a partner classroom in a different geographic area and all their students read the same book together.

Earlier this fall, lit circle teachers Amy Brownlee, Faith Scheider, and Karna Morris connected with a sixth-grade teacher in Uddevalla, Sweden. They set up a pen pal program where students wrote letters back and forth to learn about each other. Each group also created a video or slide show to give their new transatlantic friends a tour of their school.

The Global Read Aloud was founded in 2010 by educator Pernille Ripp with the idea of “one book to connect the world.” According to the Global Read Aloud website, “Global collaboration is necessary to show students that they are part of something bigger than them. That the world needs to be protected and that we need to care for all people. You can show them pictures of kids in other countries but why not have them speak to each other?”

The book our students read together, Kareem Between by Shifa Safadi, is a novel in verse about a Syrian-American boy who loves football. The story depicts struggles with friendships, family, and the experience of immigrants.

While Sterling has few immigrant students, the partner school in Sweden is made up of 60% immigrants.

“I teach students to think about books as being both mirrors and windows.,” Brownlee explained. “I ask them to think about what elements in the book are mirrors, reflecting their own experiences, and what elements are windows, giving them a view into a new perspective.”

Students had an overwhelmingly positive Global Read Aloud experience and especially loved receiving letters from their Swedish pen pals. Students noted similarities - Swedish students also play Roblox and eat Oreos - as well as differences. Uddevalla is near a beach, and the climate is colder than in Kansas.

A grant from the Moxley Foundation funded the purchase of books for the Global Read Aloud project, which allowed Sterling students to build community by reading and discussing a common book while making personal connections across the globe and learning about new cultures and perspectives.

One student summed up her Global Read Aloud learning experience with these words:

“This book made me better by realizing what good friends are and that popularity does not matter. I used to think that people of a different culture were weird and a lot different. But now I think people from different cultures are just like us and we can be friends with them.”

Thanks to a grant from the South Central Kansas Library System, the SGS Library was able to purchase 22 new Sports Illustrated Kids biographies.

Mrs. Brownlee promoted these books during fifth-grade library skills with a book browse and Fast Facts Challenge activity. Students were invited to preview the books, then select one and write down the title and one interesting fact from the book. The Fast Facts were displayed on a poster.

Studies show that students are more motivated to read when they can self-select books that interest them. Adding these books to the library collection has generated excitement among our readers.

This project was sponsored by the South Central Kansas Library System - assisting member libraries to provide excellent service to their communities.

Members of Sterling Rotary Club presented a dictionary to every 3rd grader. Students loved exploring all the features of their new books, including maps, country and state flags, and a list of U.S. presidents along with grammar, punctuation, and math guides. This is the 16th year the club has donated dictionaries to SGS students.

Thank you Rotary Club of Sterling!