We’re thankful to the staff and students of Burnet Hill Elementary in Livingston, New Jersey, for letting us share their event with all of you. We hope it inspires large-scale celebrations in your school.
A second grader sits on the floor pouring over a fifth grader’s personal essay, then jots a “compliment to go” to them, “I really like how you wrote about your sister, it made me laugh.” A brother in fourth grade walks with his kindergarten sister to her class’ display of writing and asks her to point out her “All-About Book.” Students, parents, board members, teachers and district administrators all took part in Burnet Hill Elementary School’s recent School-wide Writing Celebration, a smash hit the school hopes to carry on next year. Organized by district literacy coach, Cynthia Augello, principal Lisa Steiger, and several staff from the school, the celebration aimed to honor the growth of all children, from across the entire year in writing workshop.
To prepare for this event, that in the words of one staff member “made our students feel so special, and so proud of writing—writing was important to everyone on this day,” in each classroom, kindergarten through fifth grade, students read through their writing portfolios and reflected on who they had become as writers. Every student in the school chose two writing pieces that they felt represented them and placed each in a large plastic Ziploc baggie with their name.
The gymnasium was decorated with cups of coffee and hot cocoa under the theme “We’re Stirring Up Some Writing.” Tables were set up, one for each class, for teachers to display their students’ work. On the gym wall next to each poster hung a piece of blank poster board for “compliments” to the class, and boxes were scattered through of the gym for “compliments to go” that could be left within writing baggies. Nora Lichtenstein, a school reading specialist, noted that classes’ compliment boards filled up so quickly, that they had to keep adding more!
The celebration took place over two days. On the first, students visited the gym and were free to walk to any grade level and any table. Cynthia Augello recalled one conversation between a kindergartener and first grader. The kindergarten writer was reading a fourth grader’s narrative and said aloud, “What are all of these other papers here? How come they don’t just have booklets like we do?” The first grader leaned over and said, “Those are called 'drafts'. You’ll get to make those when you get older.” Lisa Steiger, the principal, said it was so moving to see how writers from all grades took great care in writing compliments to one another and treated each piece as if it were gold, “To see a fourth grader writing to a kindergartener with such care was really moving for me.”
After school on the first day and then on all of the second, students were invited to come back to the celebration with their family members and friends. Several parents commented that they did not know what to expect and once they saw the pride their students showed while looking at not only their own piece, but those of their schoolmates, they could not have been happier. Some parents commented on how nice it was to see all of the different genres from across the different grades: that they now had a sense of the work their children will be doing across the school. Another parent added, “[This celebration] gave every student a chance to be showcased in a really meaningful way.”
As the celebration came to a close one first grader summed up the feeling permeating the event, “This was the best day of my life! The next time I have to write about a small moment, I’m going to write about today.”
