Lower School Celebrates Reading Together

The entire Lower School celebrated reading in a big way with the annual Reading Celebration on Sept. 23, an exciting event that brings grades 3-6 together in mixed groups.

The day centered around this year’s summer reading book, Just Right Jillian, a novel written by Nicole D. Collier. Just Right Jillian tells the story of fifth grader Jillian, who must learn to speak and break free of her shell to enter her school's academic competition and keep her promise to her grandmother.

The Reading Celebration fostered plenty of connection and community via a combination of discussions, art projects, games, and more. A highlight of the day was mixed-grade groups, where sixth graders led get-to-know-you games, discussions about the summer reading book, and modeled leadership to the younger grades. 

"It’s heartwarming to witness how kids from different grades works beautifully together and they were friends already by the time we sat down together for lunch," said Lower School Librarian Jun Niu.

"I liked the summer reading celebration because we got to meet kids in other grades," shared Samantha F. '29. "I liked making friendship bracelets and teaching others how to make them."

An art activity exploring and building on themes from Just Right Jillian asked students to make incubators for eggs. After decorating cupcake boxes, students wrote on strips of paper things that would help them grow and thrive, such as "alone time," "love," or "attention." The activity mirrored the chickens that Jillian's class help to hatch in the book.

"I enjoyed the reading celebration because making the incubator let me be creative," said Joanna J. '29. "Another thing I enjoyed was making the friendship bracelets because I got to pick the colors knowing that someone will get this bracelet.

On Oct. 6, the Lower School also got the opportunity to virtually meet with Nicole D. Collier, the author of Just Right Jillian. Many students got their questions answered and were able to feel even more connected with the book.

View more photos from the day on Vidigami.