a brave writer

There’s been a little bit of writing happening at our school this month. We are in the middle of our own version of the March Slice of Life Challenge. This is our second year at it! Back in April, we hung a big, hand drawn calendar in the hallway, just as we had the year before. Teachers signed up for a publishing day. Before we knew it, the calendar was filled. We had a writer for each day.

As the month has gone on, we’ve gotten more brave souls ready to share a slice. So, somedays, my daily email to staff includes not one, but two links to our blog!

Last year, one of our paraprofessionals, Donna, participated in our slicing by being a reader. Last year, you heard her talking to others about what she had read. This year, she got really curious about the writing end of it. She started looking for stories she could share.

Last week, she came into our room on a few different occasions. One was with a hand written piece inspired by an instagram post she saw. She wondered if it could be a slice. I told her absolutely. “I just need to add something.” she said wrapping up our short conversation.

Later in the week, she came to Ashley, (we share a room) with a success story. Donna works closely with a first grade teacher. Jenn often has Donna practicing reading and spelling snap words. Donna has done this work in other classrooms over the years. She cares a lot about he work and the kids. So, this particular day, she came in to celebrate J’s progress. “That could be a slice!” Ashley told her. Well, lo and behold, Donna got down to work and hand wrote another slice.

She came into our room early this morning to see Ashley. I was working with a few kids, but managed to eavesdrop just enough….

“Can I see you for just a minute.” Donna tiptoed in towards Ashley.

Ashley scanned over the piece of paper Donna so tentatively brought in. Donna relived the moment orally, “I told him, ‘you just read all those words ‘and he just smiled right at me. I had to celebrate with him, and you.” she looked Ashley. Ashley read on and at the end I heard her, “I just love your last line. I’m so proud of him. Of you.” Ashley affirmed her not only Donna’s work with J but her decision to turn it into a slice for our Saugatuck Writes Blog.

When Jess and I begged the question, “What happens when we invite the staff to write in March?” we didn’t know the answer, but we were ready to seek and find answers. Last year, we quickly learned that teachers were connecting with others in a way that the typical school day does not allow for simply by reading a blog post. These connections and conversations are continuing this year.

I like to think of our calendar as a massive, monthlong invitation. Donna did not accept the invitation initially. But this week, she was ready. She was ready to accept the invitation to write, to share a story. Eavesdropping on Ashley and Donna’s conference I got to witness a piece of the process that goes into accepting an invitation to be a writer.

writer’s conference in the reading room – donna and ashley