It was a big week for the English Department! Teachers Mrs. McCartney and Mrs. Lamphere were proud to announce that after traveling to compete against several other schools for the day, our Middle School Battle of the Books team tied for 3rd place in the competition and the High School team placed 2nd! All that reading paid off!
Then Sandra Cisneros paid students a visit thanks to an invitation from Mrs. McCartney. Ms. Cisneros is the author of The House on Mango Street which is celebrating its 40th year in print, in part by debuting an opera rendition of the novel at our very own Glimmerglass Opera Theater Festival this July. In preparation for this event, the author hoped to have students in our region read the book and experience the opera this summer. Richfield Springs eighth grade students along with students from Cherry Valley and Cooperstown took part in the reading and were able to meet the author via Zoom for a presentation and Q and A session on Thursday, March 13th. Cisneros spoke about her reticence to use her voice and believe in herself both as a woman and a writer and how she overcame these obstacles to ultimately write The House on Mango Street along with her other novels and books of poetry. She then took time to speak individually to students, answer their questions, and take a group photo to commemorate the event.
It was a great week to celebrate recreational reading!
