Elizabeth Wein at Galloway

Galloway 9th and 10th graders got to meet author Elizabeth Wein today. She is the author of the World War II spy novel Code Name Verity and her latest WWII novel, Rose Under Fire. She spoke about writing historical fiction and about her love of aviation. She is shown here with Mrs. Fillyaw (9th grade English), Mrs. Klein (10th grade English) and Ms. Kochel (librarian). Thank you, Little Shop of Stories for sending her to us.

Unbound is Back

The Unbound Book Club is back. We will meet weekly on Wednesdays after school. We had 28 kids in attendance and more that will join us when fall sports are over. Be sure to see our Unbound web page for updates. Our first order of business is to make new READ posters for the library.

Meet Joe the Library Monitor

There's been a lot of eating and loud talking in the library at lunch time this school year. We really hate to get mad at students, but this week even nice Ms. Pierce lost her patience. So we have hired a new library monitor to keep the peace. So watch out for Joe!

Gordon Korman!

We were so so so excited to host author Gordon Korman at Galloway last Friday. He spoke to our 4th, 5th and 6th graders about his new book, The Hypnotists, and about many of his other books for kids. Ms. Starkman and I even got to pick him up at the airport and take him out to lunch, which gave us lots of time to talk to him about his books and writing and life in general. He graciously autographed every book that was purchased or brought to him, and even autographed a few sticky notes as well. Thank you, Little Shop of Stories, for bringing us this fabulous author event.

UL Book Club

Ms. Chapman and I were THRILLED to start the UL book club today with 19 opinionated and talkative readers. We'll be reading Beautiful Creatures for September. Stay tuned for the date and time and a name for the club. Thanks to all who came—you made our day.

Wonder

All of middle learning has been reading Wonder by R.J. Palacio this summer. Now it's time to talk about Auggie, Jack Will, Summer, Julian, Via and all the other characters. How were they kind to each other? When were they not as good of friends as they should have been? What can we learn from how Beecher Prep welcomed Auggie to school? We are hoping this is the beginning of a year-long conversation about how we can be a more caring community.

Welcome Back!

Me in Cambodia this summer.
I held and ate a tarantula.
What did you do this summer?

Only a few days until school starts and there is a lot to be excited about. It has been fun to already see some students at school—and especially great to have ML and UL students coming through and offering to help us get the library ready for next week. Here are some of the things I am excited about right now.
1. Upper Learning book club meetings will be on Thursday, Aug. 15. I can't wait to hear how those discussions go. I hope you all read and enjoyed your books.
2. Upper Learning excursion! I get to go backpacking with 14 great students on the Appalachian Trail.
3. We have two authors coming to Galloway very soon...and they are biggies. Gordon Korman and Lemony Snickett. Can't wait for these events!
4. There are lots of new teachers at Galloway this year and I can't wait to work with them.
Welcome back to Galloway!