This program, called The International Book Sharing Project, has paired our school directly with a school in Israel for the study and online discussion of a work of age-appropriate Holocaust literature by Uri Orlev. Our students are reading The Island on Bird Street, discussing it in class in its historical context, and creating literary response journals. They are also taking part in an online dialogue with their Israeli peers, focusing on their reactions to central passages in the book, and discussing related issues of personal concern and interest. The discussion takes place within the student forums of the Project web site, www.korczakschool.org.

The students of  ORT Megadim in Karmiel, Israel in Maxine Bennet’s class have been paired with our Europe students at Kepner.  The posts have already begun to flow as the teens discover the things they have in common.  The first step in this project is to get to know each other.

The International Book Sharing Project is taking place this year in a select group of schools located in communities across the U.S. These include public, Jewish, and Catholic schools on the middle school and high school level. It is sponsored by the American Friends of The Ghetto Fighters’ Museum. The Museum is located in northern Israel and is one of the world’s leading teaching institutions on the Holocaust. Founded in 1949 by survivors of the Jewish Resistance during the Holocaust, the Museum houses extensive historical archives, artwork, film and photographic resources, and an educational outreach program that includes teacher training and numerous educational projects. If you are interested in learning more about the Museum, please see www.friendsogfh.org.  If you would like to access the Museum’s archives see www.gfh.org.il.

Our participation in this year’s International Book Sharing Project has been made possible by the generous support of John Bernman of Denver Sister Cities and the Alice Karlin family.  We thank them for enabling us to offer this fascinating and enriching program.

The pictures posted here are from the Lana Bernhardt’s visit to our school.  She presented us with a certificate and shared information about Israel and our partners with us.  We’ll keep you posted on the partnership as we continue.

Thank you to all our contributors for your support!