Historic Montclair Community Assoc. Inc. (HMCAI)

School News from Barbara Slenger, literacy coach for Montclair

Aug 12, 2003

Almost half of the student population completed the Denver Public Schools' challenge of reading One Million Words. We celebrated the students' achievement at our International Festival in May. Each student received a medallion and a certificate of recognition.

In February and March we were lucky to have Mary Oliver, former Montclair teacher, return as Artist in Residence. She worked with the entire student population for six weeks on poetry. We received a fabulous book with all of the students' poems. The following is a poem by Deidra Smith, a fourth grade student.

LUNCH

My stomach is grumbling, Tick, Tick, Tock
yelling, There goes the clock
lunch, lunch! Yes!
I think everybody heard that Lunch time!
because
everyone is looking at me! Everyone forms a line
Today's lunch menu Walmart and Albertson?’s bags
I don't know yet. Swish from corner to corner
I wish I did Getting in the hot lunch line,
because I feel left out. I?’m the only one today
Everybody else brought a lunch! Now I know why
It?’s ravioli day.
The aroma from our lunch room
is tingling my nose,
but not in a ticklish, hugging,
kissing kind of way.

Two Montclair students represented the school in the annual Young Authors Conference. Terina Haney won first place for My Move and Anita Annan, in second place, wrote The Good Old Days. Judges included librarians from the Denver Public Library and tutors in our Wednesday afternoon tutoring program.