Books Change Lives Continues

This year’s reading program was a little different than others. Not as cute and punny as Chick it out, Read a Book, Book,Book. Not as much physical work as planting the trees we read for in Read for the Green. Not as local as all the beans to soup kitchens we’ve read for in the Grow Your Mind years.  I didn’t get as much positive feedback as usual, and our new reporting system didn’t bring out the competitive fun of reading more and more in the upper grades… But in some ways it has been the best ever. The details were created to meet a challenge from kids inspired by our all-school read of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. We have partnered with another school and an established international organization that provides support to the place where our donated library will be created so it can be an ongoing resource. And, perhaps most meaningfully, we have a personal contact with someone on site. We’d call this in 21st century lingo an extension of our ” personal learning networks”. T.K. has been a terrific correspondent, asking and answering many questions to try to assure the success of the venture, sending pictures and involving his students. In the process, he has helped us understand a bit more about his part of Ghana and the needs of his future library patrons. Here are some excerpts from his email today (in part answering questions I posed last week):

Hello Elizabeth, 

We are appreciative of your work so far in helping us set up our Community Library. My vision for the library is to transform it into a community school in the long run. My district is amongst the lowest performing in the country. Last year we had almost all schools not scoring the pass mark to gain admission into the senior high. This news made me move to my district to contribute in my own little way to improve upon educational standards in the district. That's why we are starting with the library. 

This library will serve the entire community - "those who will patronize." Young, old, parents, artisans, farmers but mostly the youth and school going age. The books will be borrowed. The library committee has set rules to govern borrowing. My community is majority Christian with few traditionalists and Muslims. Books on other cultures will be much appreciated. The community folks are predominantly farmers so books on irrigation, farming, and animal husbandry will be good. Beekeeping is a major source of income so books on beekeeping will be appreciated. Mathematics, English and the Sciences --We'll love such books. Books on information technology will be great. Reference books are very much of use here in my community. 

The internet is not readily available for the school going kids in the community. Virtually all schools in the community have no internet access. So the iPads will help. In the future Opened Hearts will run an after-school class in basic knowledge in I.T. for the patrons of the library. My district is behind in terms of I.T. knowledge. Encyclopedias, dictionaries and other reference books will do us much good. At the A.L.P. (African Library Project) summit I learned all books can be used for a purpose.. So any book you think will help us. We'll also appreciate that from you.. We've purchased the wood for the additional shelves and have started making them. We also extended electricity to the new building. We had a clean-up exercise at the premises to tidy up the place. When we're done we'll move the shelves and table from the old building to the new one. 

The kids are happy to be part of a bigger dream. "It's always smarter to raise healthy kids than repair damaged adults " We extend greetings to the entire family.. We love you all.  

Yours,
  T.K.

You can perhaps understand how worthwhile this endeavor seems here in our world of plenty and connectivity. TK and the SSFS library staff are working to figure out what free or low cost software is out there to make a user-friendly catalog and circulation system and will try to create the catalog by “beeping” all the ISBNs of the books we are sending into that system. It’s fun to apply our experience and knowledge in service to a brand new library. We’ve gathered a pretty good collection and will find some books to fill his specific requests in the next few days. The boxes need to be mailed to New Orleans by the 21st of this month and we look forward to hearing of their safe arrival in Nkwanta. Ghana is the only African nation I have visited and I am thinking maybe I need to go back. Any books on beekeeping, farming, etc. or other topics mentioned above and any sturdy book boxes gratefully accepted. Books do change minds and lives – keep reading.


- Elizabeth

Seen in a bookstore in Berkeley Springs, West Virigina

SSFS Reads the Wildebeest to Nkwanta, Ghana!

The Wildebeest visits local high school students.

As of today 254,945 minutes have been reported and the Wildebeest has arrived Nkwanta, Ghana with his metaphorical load of books!  We didn’t report quite enough minutes to read him home again, but have received a generous donation of frequent flyer miles from an anonymous donor.  The Wildebeest says he’ll be back at SSFS at the end of spring break after a quick trip to visit relatives in Kenya and Tanzania.

It is absolutely not too late to donate books for the Open-Hearts Community Library.  Gently used and new books, the result of spring cleaning perhaps, can be brought to the library through the 15^th of April. All books are welcome.  Books not right for our friends in Ghana will be found good homes with children in the greater Baltimore-DC area.

What are the right books for our friends in Nkwanta?  Books for pre-readers, children, and adults, up to an US reading level. TK, the teacher/librarian who will be setting up and running the library, told us that nonfiction books are of particular interest, though they’d like all kinds of books.  Books written by or about Africans or African Americans are also of particular interest.  TK is very excited that this new library will give kids in the community the opportunity to choose what they want to read about.

The African Library Project has a list of guidelines to help understand which books might best serve the community. Don’t worry if you are unsure which books will be just right. The librarians, with the help of the MS Library Committee, be sorting the donated books to make sure each book finds a just right home. 

Remember there is no need to stop reading just because we are done counting minutes for this year – Books Change Lives! Whether for learning, relaxing, companionship, pleasure or the other myriad benefits reading brings, make reading part of your every day.

March 4 - Preliminary Week 3 figures put us just off the coast of Ghana at around 9500 miles.  Now we will just have to get to Nkwanta  and read the beest home again.  The weekend is a perfect time to get in some extra minutes of reading.  .  We have been reading and turning our minutes into miles. We have been collecting books and coins to make a new community center library in Nkwanta. And we have been having fun with it, despite a few technical glitches. All forms are still open if you haven't yet reported your times: week 1, week 2, week 3 and week 4 . PK-2nd grade students should bring their weekly slips so we can count their minutes.  Now there is only one more week to record. The bonus celebrates Quaker History Month and Women's History month.

 Enjoy the online poster gallery of our faculty sharing their life-changing books.  Did you see the Harness the Wind Challenge that Johanna created for this year's Celebration of Science?  A lot of creativity and design work went into the contraptions. And It was yet another connection to our summer read of  William Kamkwamba’s story. We are still collecting books and are especially looking for non-fiction titles and books that feature Africa and African Americans. These will get shipped to the warehouse in Louisiana after spring break – let us know if you would like to help with sorting and packing. And you could drop coins in the “change for change” jars in the divisions, libraries and the beestro. Keep up the good work, and Happy Reading.

The library creates a reading program each year to encourage students to be mindful of the ways the practice of reading enhances our lives - and how much fun it can be! We are especially excited about Books Change Lives with its connections to our summer reading of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind and its genesis coming from the Thompson family's desire to act on what they learned from reading about William Kamkwamba.  The google form is filling up with minutes and we are looking forward to collecting the slips brought in by PK-2nd graders on Friday.  We have set up ways for us all to see our progress in both Tanglewood Library and the Middle School Collection area. What can you do to make sure we meet our goals and get a library established in Nkwanta?

• Read, read, READ and report your minutes.  If you are in 3rd - 8th grade or are an adult who wants to support the program, log your minutes for each week on the google forms: Week 1 log , Week 2 log, Week 3 log, Week 4 log.    PK-2nd grade - bring in your slips each Friday.  Your minutes become miles to get the wildebeest and books to Nkwanta, Ghana.
• Donate new or gently used books that meet the suggested guidelines put out by The African Library Project.  We are setting up a Community Center Library and so are looking for all reading levels.  Bring your donations to the library.
• Drop some coins in the "Change for Change" jars. You can find them in both libraries, the Beestro, at division offices and Scott House. 

Keep These Kids Smiling

Books Change Lives reading program begins!

Our 25^th annual reading program starts this Friday, February 12^th, inspired by our summer read, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind and the Thompson Family.  We are partnering with Ali Thompson’s school, Green Acres, and the African Library Project to make some positive change in the world while celebrating the wonder and fun of reading.  For four weeks all LS and MS students and faculty will be keeping track of the time they spend reading outside of the school day.   Every 30 minutes of reading will equal 1 mile.  The community service aspect of the program is to collect 1000 new and gently used books to start a community center library in Nkwanda, Ghana like the one where William Kamkwamba found the book that changed his life.  Our 15,000 mile (450,000 minutes) goal represents the round trip distance from SSFS to New Orleans (where the African Library Project has a warehouse), on to the Open Hearts Community center in Ghana, and some miles to bring the wildebeest home.  Look for displays in the MS and LS to see our progress.  We will also be collecting change to help finance the shipping costs.  There will be jars around campus where change can be donated.  Students 3^rd  - 8^th grade and all faculty and staff can log their minutes on a google form each week.  PK-2^nd grade students will have slips of paper to take home to record their minutes and return to school each Friday.  Each week has a bonus challenge that offers  a way to earn an additional hour, and every student who reports their time gets a small gift from the library.  All the links and information you need to participate in the program will be found on the library website and here on the blog.    Book donations can be left at either library.  Is there a book that has changed your life?  Tell us about it .  Any questions?  Give us a call at x145  or send an email to elizt@ssfs.org. 

 Happy Reading!

Week 1 log  

Week 2 log 

Week 3 log

Week 4 log

Starting, Monday, November 16, both Chevy Chase Library and Potomac Library will be open Monday through Thursday from 10 am to 8 pm. On Fridays and Saturdays, they will be open 10 am - 6 pm.  Read more about expanded hours all Montgomery County Public Libraries at the MCPL website.

Chronicling America:  Historic American Newspapers, 1836-1922 @ 10 Million Pages

The Library of Congress announces that the Chronicling America web site now offers more than 10 million pages from more than 1,900 newspapers in 38 states and territories, and the District of Columbia. The site provides free and open access to historic American newspapers published between 1836 and 1922. The newspapers are accessible to students, researchers, journalists and others for all kinds of research, from family history to in-depth analysis of U.S. culture. The headlines, articles and advertisements capture the life and times of the American people, shining new light on historic events as they unfolded.