Several area elementary schools took part in the One School, One Book campaign this year, a literacy program designed to get students and families reading together at home while tying classroom activities to a shared book.
In the program, each student receives a copy of the same book, which families read chapter by chapter at home. At school, students discuss the reading and explore the novel’s themes through related activities, to reinforce reading instruction, increase parental involvement and strengthen the connection between home and school.
Highbridge Hill Elementary School in New Ipswich participated as part of its literacy mission, with the entire school reading “Stuart Little” by E.B. White. As a culminating celebration, reading and writing teacher Keryn Matson and staff member Jamie Johnson hosted a “Picnic in Central Park” featuring snacks inspired by the story. The event was sponsored by the school’s Parent-Teacher Association.
Temple Elementary School also participated, reading another E.B. White title, “The Trumpet of the Swan,” about a mute swan who learns to play the trumpet to communicate.
During March, Temple students took part in a variety of nature-themed activities connected to the book, including learning about nests and eggs, listening to bird calls and making nature journals. Students also discussed differences and ways to communicate using all their senses, and the South Meadow School band visited to share trumpet music. Activities will continue through April, culminating in an evening celebration April 22.
At Dublin Consolidated School, the annual One School, One Book program remained a highlight of the year. Now in its fifth year at the school, the program has previously featured books such as “Mr. Popper’s Penguins” and “The Mouse and the Motorcycle.” This year’s selection, “The Wild Robot” by Peter Brown, became a staff favorite for its vocabulary and themes of teamwork, kindness and perseverance.
DCS launched the program with whole-school games emphasizing teamwork, a key theme of the book, along with a staff skit introducing the story. Students were then sent home with their own copies and a reading schedule. In the following weeks, they built vocabulary, answered daily trivia questions and participated in school-wide challenges.
The program concluded with a week of activities that included a spirit week with character dress-up days, robot and goose-themed projects, a school-wide “Wild Robot” escape room and a walk to Dublin School to watch the movie adaptation in its theater.