Sixth grade student Rylan Fitzgerald participates in a virtual visit with an award-winning author. (Courtesy Photo Kearsarge Regional School District) Sixth grade student Natalie Markoff participates in a remote visit with an award-winning author. (Courtesy Photo Kearsarge Regional School Distrct)
NEW LONDON, N.H. — Superintendent Winfried Feneberg and Principal Stephen Paterson are pleased to share that award-winning author Dr. Padma Venkatraman spoke to Kearsage Regional Middle School Sixth-Graders during a virtual visit last week.
Dr. Venkatraman is the author of “The Bridge Home,” which Kearsarge Regional sixth-graders read as a part of their studies and the Global Read Aloud. The Global Read Aloud is an annual effort for students to connect with other leaners globally by reading a shared text in their classes during the same six week period.
On Wednesday, Dec. 16, Dr. Venkatraman visited the school virtually and students had the option of attending one of the three workshops that she hosted. The workshop topics included exploring Dr. Venkatraman’s inspiration for “The Bridge Home”, writing descriptively, and how her career as an oceanographer impacts her writing.
Students were also able to attend a question and answer session where they inquired about the characters, events and setting of the story.
“This was our first-time ever welcoming an award-winning author into one of our classrooms, virtually or in-person, and it could not have gone more smoothly,” said Principal Paterson. “I want to extend a special thank you to Dr. Venkatraman for taking time out of her busy schedule to offer valuable insights to our young learners.”
“It was so exciting to have Dr. Venkatraman visit and see her interact with our sixth-graders. They were so thrilled to be able to chat with Dr. Venkatraman and get a behind-the-scenes look at the novel that they all read,” said sixth grade Social Studies teacher Cristine McCloskey. “This was truly an amazing experience for our students and we look forward to offering them more interactive learning experiences like this in the future.”
Additionally, each sixth-grader will receive a signed copy of “The Bridge Home”.
Dr. Venkatraman’s virtual visit would not have been made possible without Kearsage Regional Middle School’s language arts teachers, Heidi Clarke and Donna Beth Murphy, and social studies teachers, Cristine McCloskey and Terry Stoneking, as well as Media Specialist Maureen McGinty.
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