In Our Schools

  Students in all grades in the Corning-Painted Post Area School District will participate in an exciting array of The Big Read - To Kill a Mockingbird activities during the month of April. Here is  a partial list:

  Eighth graders will read Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, To Kill a Mockingbird.  This is a district-required piece for our 8th grade students. Current 8th graders will read and analyze the novel and possibly get the chance to talk to current ninth graders about their experiences in reading the book.

  For the area's youngest students, including preschoolers, The Mad Hatters Storytelling Troupe will visit area schools and childcare centers throughout the month, with lively presentations of multicultural tales.

April 3

The Right to Dream: TheatreWorks USA, Living Voices will present a live and multimedia drama about a young African-American's coming of age in Mississippi during the 1950s and 1960s.  The program will be presented to middle school audiences.

April 7 and 21

Harper Lee's Almost Birthday Harper Lee, author of To Kill A Mockingbird, turns 82 on April 28.  In conjunction with The Big Read, our secondary students will celebrate the author’s birthday.  Students will get cards explaining the reason for the lunch time treat as well as explaining the activities that will take place in their buildings.

April 8 and 24

Heroes of the The Big Read: Brown Bag Forums will be held in selected classes at West High on April 8 and at East High on April 24. Educator/CPPASD English Teacher Gwen Davis Feldman will deliver a moving address, "Heroes," that brings some of the important themes in Lee's Pulitzer Prizewinning novel into focus on a personal level.

April 9 and 23

Film Showing and Discussion: Free showings of the 1962 Hollywood film, To Kill a Mockingbird, at West High on April 9 at 3 pm, and at East High on April 23 at 3 pm. This is available to all district students.

April 10

  Literacy Day will be celebrated by elementary and secondary students. This district-wide project, organized by school librarians, will pair high school and middle school students with elementary classrooms.  The secondary students will read books with themes similar to To Kill a Mockingbird to the elementary school students and allow teachers an opportunity to dialogue with students about the issues raised in the books.

April 11 and 25

  Read all Day day: High school students will get the opportunity to read something of their choice in English classes on these days.  Students will be encouraged to bring their own reading materials.

April 23 and 24

  Keynote workshops: Big Read Keynote Speaker Elise Klein, president and founder of Teachers Against Prejudice (www.teachersagainstprejudice.org), will hold educational workshops with students. The community-wide Big Read Keynote Address will be held at 6 pm on April 24 in the auditorium at Corning Free Academy.

  Throughout April, Trivia questions and meaningful quotations from the novel will be on display in the district’s high schools.