An Amazing School, An Amazing Visit!

This past Thursday I visited a truly amazing school. So, I thought that I would share a few parts of my fantastic day.

Even as I walked toward the school, I could feel the enthusiasm and energy that filled the rooms and the hallways of this middle school. Everyone was welcoming and excited and friendly. And boy, did the staff and parents and students make this author feel special.

There were “Welcome Cynthia Chapman Willis" banners hanging outside the school as well as inside it. There were also student-made posters for Dog Gone and Buck Fever all over the hallways and in the rooms. Wow!

The librarian and the parent who organized this visit gave me a binder filled with compositions about why each student hoped to attend one of the writer’s workshops with yours truly. Believe me, I will treasure this binder of essays forever. Each composition is it’s own gem.

Before my arrival, the staff held a bookmark-making contest with Dog Gone and Buck Fever as the inspiration. And the bookmarks that people created were incredible--so creative and beautiful. I could not have been more impressed. The winning bookmarks were copied and each student got to pick one to go along with his or her signed copy of Dog Gone or Buck Fever. Perfect!

Also, the students dressed in camouflage or animals prints, wore animal hats or painted on whiskers or paw prints on their faces in tribute to Dog Gone and Buck Fever. How cool is that?

I could go on and on, but I will summarized by saying that I walked away from this visit feeling beyond grateful for the opportunity to experience such a wonderful school filled with dedicated teachers, librarians, parents, and students. I can’t even imagine all the hard work that went in to making our day as special as it was. Incredible.