Chestertown Lions Club One School-One Book 2024

Chestertown Lions Bob Barrows, Kiki Jones and Fred Sherriff present a check to Garnet School Interventionist Heather Davis (holding book).

Students at H.H. Garnet Elementary School are joining with their parents in reading the same book together during the month of March, thanks to a generous donation from the Chestertown Lions Club.

For this year’s One School-One Book program, Garnet students are reading the multi-award winning book Wonder by RJ Palacio. This profound and moving story is about a ten-year-old boy with a deformed face, who must deal with how others see and treat him. It is presented in various viewpoints, from him and also from those of his family and schoolmates and is an experiential lesson in kindness and acceptance of those who appear different.

Students were given clues to guess the book title from February 27th- March 2nd. Clues were posted throughout the school in the days leading up to the big reveal at an assembly held on March 2nd, wherein additional hints were given through skits and songs. The book’s title was revealed on the morning announcements on March 3rd. The winners were able to choose a prize of their choice from the school’s prize chest.

Once the guess-the-title contest was finished, the books were sent home for families to enjoy a shared reading activity at home. During the announcements, a trivia question is asked each morning based on the assigned reading. Prizes are awarded to students who answer the daily question correctly. Students also participate in daily classroom activities about the book. There will be a culminating activity on March 31st.

The Chestertown Lions Club has donated money to the One School, One Book program for several years now. This year’s donation of $4,000 helped the school purchase over 400 copies of Wonder.

“The entire staff and student body at H.H. Garnet Elementary School thank the Lions Club for their generous donation. We look forward to participating in this initiative every year, and they make it possible for us,” said Heather Davis, the school’s Title I interventionist and academic coach.

The One School, One Book program is a powerful literacy initiative designed to help an entire school community — children and parents — share a love of books and reading. The school encourages the entire family to participate in the One School, One Book program. Studies have shown that kids whose parents read to and with them will often excel in academic achievement.