Inside Season’s Readings 2024

The Season’s Readings poster. Image used with permission of the THHS Reading Initiative.

A special schedule

For this half-day event, students received a special schedule that focused entirely on reading and the holidays. Here's an overview of the schedule:

BAND 1, Nightingale Live Readings & Classroom Read Alouds: No matter the class, students either went to the auditorium to hear The Nightingale Theater Company’s live performance of a holiday story or the classroom teacher chose to read aloud a holiday-themed story to the class.

BAND 2, Independent Reading Period: Students had a full period to read whatever they liked – holiday-themed or not – during this independent reading period.

BAND 3, FON Cultural Showcase: student "Festival of Nations" leaders curated a series of readings that introduced readers to the cultures and cultural traditions of the various FONs that will be on stage in February. Students had the whole period to read these with a group in class, read them together as a class, or read them on their own (the teacher selected).

BAND 4, Nightingale Live Readings & Classroom Read Alouds:this was the same as first period, and depended on teacher choice.
(Ryan Chen)

A Special Performance from The Nightingale Theater Company

Watch the livestream from the first band of the Nightingale Theater Company's read aloud performance.
The FON Cultural Showcase reading packet cover. Image used with permission of the THHS Reading Initiative.

FON Cultural Showcase

During the third band, students received packets of poems and stories from around the world. Festival of Nations leaders curated the stories and provided introductions to each passage. Here's an excerpt from one of the introductions written by the leaders of African FON:

“Rhythm of Africa” by Edward Kofi Louis is a poem that celebrates the energy and beauty of African culture. It talks about dancing to the beat of African music and experiencing the traditions, colors, and customs of the many tribes across the continent. The repeated lines like “Dance, dance!” and “Tap, tap!” make you feel the rhythm and excitement of African life. The poem also highlights the beauty of nature, the diversity of languages, and how Africa’s culture brings people together. It’s a fun and lively tribute to everything that makes Africa unique.
The Holiday Market menu. Image used with permission of the THHS Reading Initiative.

The Season's Readings Holiday Market: Featuring food from the Festival of Nations

At the end of the reading sessions, students and staff went to the lobby for the Holiday Market. Homemade from the cultures represented by the following Festival of Nations (FON) groups were available for purchase:

Bengali FON, Brazilian FON, Caribbean FON, Chinese Modern FON, Chinese Silk FON, Greek FON, Hispanic FON, KFON (Korean FON), Latinx FON, Filipino FON, Tibetan FON, and West Indian FON.

In addition, the Culinary Connections 520 club sold Pancakes, s'mores, hot chocolate, and sugar cookies, while the robotics team sold more hot drinks, boba, and ice cream.
Students read during the FON cultural showcase period. (Kimberly Pareja)

The Season's Readings Prize Giveaway

At the end of the event, there was a special giveaway: AirPods Pro, given to a student who participated in the Reading Initiative's independent reading contest (where students self report their independent reading hours).

The contest also tallies how much each grade reads as a whole, which leads to more prizes later. Here are the current standings:

1) The Freshmen: 128,732 Points

2) The Sophomores: 103,626 Points

3) The Seniors: 88,716 Points

4) The Juniors: 76,304 Points

Stories Using This Infobox

“Season’s Readings” event encourages independent reading and cultural exploration

The Classic

The Classic

The Classic

Watch the livestream from the first band of the Nightingale Theater Company's read aloud performance.

The Classic

The Classic