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GARDINER — Two-time Newbery Honor and National Book Award Finalist Gary Schmidt recently visited Gardiner Regional Middle School to participate in a writing workshop.
Principal Todd Sanders said, “Gary’s storytelling ability, down to earth personality, and ability to connect to students made him one of the most engaging and inspirational speakers we have ever had at our school.”
The Arthur R. Warren Library’s goal is to sponsor an author visit once every three years, so each middle school student will have this experience while at GRMS.
Students, staff and guests from the community enjoyed a full school assembly.
“Art whether in the form of a book, painting, photograph or mathematical equation provides questions that give us more for being human,” Gary shared. He demonstrated how his own life experiences inspire his books. Kim Quirion, sixth-grade language arts teacher, said her students asked her if they could accept Schmidt’s challenge of rewriting the World War II story they heard during the assembly.
Students who made welcome posters were invited to share them with Schmidt. Posters included messages in Arabic, English, French, Spanish and Turkish.
Before Schmidt’s visit, students had the opportunity to read his books and respond to them. Those who accepted the reading challenge earned a book signed by Schmidt.
Nominated students participated in one of three, grade-level workshops. Students received individual guidance, and Schmidt offered to provide follow-up feedback to each story he receives. “Mr. Schmidt was very genuine and engaged in conversations and was interested in what we were saying,” said eighth-grader Stephanie Brown. “It was definitely an amazing experience for me as a writer. I loved it. It was so much fun.”
After school, staff enjoyed a meet and greet with Schmidt. Students in Hope St. Denis’s learning center class were some of the first in the country to read his yet-to-be-released book “Pay Attention, Carter Jones.” The students in her class submitted questions about the book and a thank you card. They decided that the inspirational message from the butler in the book should be posted on their classroom wall as a constant reminder.
Diana Dionne-Morang, language arts teacher, reflected, “What a pleasure to experience storytelling at its finest! His interaction with our students proved to be extremely entertaining and very enlightening. Mr. Schmidt’s presentation exemplified the qualities reflective of a world-class educator as evidenced through his rapport with our middle schoolers.”
Schmidt’s visit was made possible with support from the Maine Humanities Council, the Onion Foundation, the GRMS Parent Teacher Association, MSAD #11, school dances and other fundraisers.
Students in Amelia Beiermeister’s library classes used technology apps Flipgrid and Padlet to reflect on the visit and to respond to each other’s reactions. Susanne Williamson’s students in her REACH class created class word webs based on their reactions.
When asked how to keep the energy from the day moving ahead, Schmidt advised, “Let students see the adults in their lives reading and writing. Make the process visible to them.”
