Wednesday, April 24^th was a special evening for the Golden Hills School community.  This date marked the third annual GHS Authors and Artists Fair, an event that celebrates the middle school students’ achievements throughout the year.  Each middle school student was asked to create a presentation board which showcased their favorite written or visual works from their classes this year.  At the fair, the students have the opportunity to explain why they are proud of their work and what they learned from doing each assignment.  The event was started in 2010 by Mrs. Baldwin, our middle school English teacher, as a way to honor the students’ visual and written work, which all too often gets shoved in a backpack after it is graded.  The event puts the students’ work on display, emphasizing how hard they work throughout the school year, providing them with a chance to be recognized for their outstanding academic achievements.  The Authors and Artists Fair also highlights how reading and writing are universal skills that are used in each subject area.  It was a fun evening of celebration for the middle school students and our community.  Thank you to all who volunteered for this event.

On Tuesday, May 7^th, the middle school students visited the B Street Theater to see The Three Musketeers.  Adapted by Dana Friedman from Alexandre Dumas’ original novel, the play features the daring D’Artagnan who must brave 17^th Century Paris in search of fame and fortune. The play included important themes such as maintaining courage under pressure, standing up for what is right, and love conquers all.  This was the third annual trip to the B Street Theater for the middle school students and it was a great day! 

Do you know what a ghostwriter is?  Here’s a hint, they don’t usually write about ghosts! Published author and ghostwriter Sean D. Harvey met with the middle school students today during a special assembly.  Mr. Harvey shared what writing as a profession is about including sharing about his writing process, the frustrations of working with editors and publishing companies, etc.  Mr. Harvey explained that ghostwriting is writing a book that is published under another name; this often occurs for celebrity biographies and politicians’ books.  Mr. Harvey has donated copies of his book, One Moment Changes Everything, to interested middle schoolers, and he has signed copies for Mrs. Baldwin’s classroom library.  Come by and check out his novel today!  We are thankful Mr. Harvey visited GHS.

GHS Students Meet Holocaust Survivor

On Tuesday, March 19^th, 2013, the middle school students at GHS were privileged to meet a Holocaust survivor.  Ms. Renée Tully, our neighbor in nearby Placerville, graciously shared her incredible story with the GHS community, highlighting details from her time spent in France during the German occupation.  Ms. Tully lived for over a year in a German labor camp in Auschwitz.  During that time, Ms. Tully was forced to live in terrible conditions, working for the Nazi guards and becoming extremely malnourished.  What was most remarkable about Ms. Tully’s story was her optimism.  She does not blame anyone for what she went through.  Instead, she chooses to focus on the positive, and is thankful she is alive.  Ms. Tully’s story touched us all and we are so lucky to have met her in person and heard a firsthand account of this horrific period in history.

Ms. Tully shared with Mrs. Baldwin that she “truly enjoyed speaking at GHS and the students asked great questions.”  Thank you to all the middle school students who were such a wonderful, attentive audience!

If you would like to read more information about the Holocaust, Ms. Tully has provided a list of references you may consult.  These titles are listed below.

Holocaust Materials Recommended by Ms. Tully:

• Hitler’s Pope by John Cornwall
• Night by Elie Wiesel
• Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl
• The Drowned and The Saved by Levi Primo
• Survival in Auschwitz by Levi Primo
• The Hiding Place by Corrie TenBoom
• They Looked for a City by Lydia Buksbazen
• Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosna