For Immediate Release

Thursday, Oct. 12, 2017

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: john@jgpr.net

Rogers Middle School Holds Successful One Book One School Day

Summer Reading Novel Focuses on Teaching Students about Respect and Treating Others with Kindness

ROCKLAND — If you had visited John W. Rogers Middle School recently, you would have heard students and staff excitedly talking about the 1960s. You would have heard the names of known civil rights leaders like Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks and Ruby Bridges, along with musical icons Elvis Presley and The Beatles.

On Thursday, Sept. 21, students in grades five through eight, along with faculty and staff, gathered to talk about the school’s summer reading selection, “Glory Be” by Augusta Scattergood, a historical fiction book set in Mississippi during Freedom Summer of 1964. The school community read the novel as part of Rogers Middle School’s One Book One School summer reading program.

Students were broken into small groups — about 75 throughout the building — and staff led the discussions, encouraging everyone to share their thoughts on the book. Students also completed a shared response writing activity and wrote letters to characters within the book expressing a point of view on an event in the story.

One Book One School, which began four years ago, is designed to foster a continued appreciation of quality literature during the summer months and to prevent the loss of any reading achievement goals reached during the school year. The initiative also promotes community spirit and unity, as everyone is reading and discussing the same novel.

“We chose ‘Glory Be’ as this year’s summer reading book because we thought it would be a great way to give students some insight into a challenging period of this country’s history and make valuable connections to the nation’s current social climate,” said Janet Cook, Rogers Middle School ELA Coordinator. “We were pleased to see students have meaningful conversations about the importance of getting along and treating each other with kindness and respect.”

Book selections in years past have been chosen from a variety of genres, including realistic and historical fiction. Students previously read “Out of My Mind” by Sharon Draper, “A Long Walk to Water” by Linda Sue Park and “One for the Murphys” by Lynda Mullaly Hunt.

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