SUBMITTED BY TRICIA CAMMERZELL | KENT SCHOOL
Kent School will start the Spring season by welcoming authors to its campus on April 1 and again on April 8. First, Sheila Bair, former chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and former President of Washington College will share her series of children's books with students in Grades 3 through 8. Ms. Bair will visit on Friday, April 1. From her page on Amazon, “Once named by Time magazine as ‘the little guy’s protector in chief,’ Ms. Bair is a passionate advocate for strong consumer protections in financial services and educating the public on financial basics, starting at an early age. She is the author of Albert Whitman’s Money Tales picture book series, which includes Rock, Brock and the Savings Shock (2006), Isabel’s Car Wash (2008). Princess Persephone Loses the Castle (2021) and Billy the Borrowing Blue-Footed Booby (2021). She also authored a book about the financial crisis for young adults, Bullies of Wall Street (Simon & Schuster, 2015). She has received awards from the Association of Educational Publishers (AEP), the Council on Economic Education (CEE), the JumpStart Coalition, and Institute for Financial Literacy for her educational writings. She serves on CNBC’s Financial Wellness Advisory Council, providing televised perspectives on personal finance.”
Ms. Bair will address Kent School students about financial literacy using her books and characters as guides. Each student will receive complimentary copies of three selections.
On April 8, Chestertown’s own author/illustrator team of Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr will visit Kent School. Their visit is made possible through Kent School’s endowed Kudner Leyon Memorial Fund which funds author visits to Kent School several times in each academic year. Swanson and Behr will tailor programs for students at every grade level from Preschool through Grade 8 at Kent School. For Younger students, the duo will base their presentation on their book, Sunrise Summer. Sunrise Summer celebrates self-confidence and empowerment, as a girl’s role changes in her family’s fishing expeditions.
“When a girl and her family travel four thousand miles from home, it’s not your typical summer vacation. A girl can do things she wouldn’t, and couldn’t, do at home. She can wake up at midnight to work with her mom on a fishing crew. She can learn what it means to be an essential part of a team. She can become a braver, stronger, and ever-more capable version of herself. She can take her next big step. She’s ready for her first real sunrise.”
The pair’s Cookie Chronicles will be the topic of presentation for Middle School students in Grades Seven and Eight. In Cookie Chronicles, “when Ben reads his fortune-cookie fortune, he's alarmed and inspired. Immediately, he begins drafting a bucket list of unfinished tasks and lifelong dreams (finish his 1000-piece model of the Taj Mahal, eat an entire cake, etc....). As Ben marches himself in and out of trouble, takes useful risks, and helps both his parents to see the bigger picture, readers discover how something that seems scary can instead be empowering--leading to friendships that might never have been made, neighbors that might never have been known, and apple pies that might otherwise never have been baked.” Prior to the book talk, Swanson and Behr will lead a writing workshop with 7th and 8th Grade students.
Nancy Mugele, Head of School at Kent School said, “We are so proud to host Sheila Bair and Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr within one week of each other. It is wonderful to return to offering these unique in-person opportunities for our students. I think it is very meaningful to our students to understand that a ‘writing life’ is available to them. We all have stories to tell and these storytellers will show our students that they can turn their stories into a career or life-long passion.”
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