"The Final Word" CHSBC Award Event on April 30

On Thursday, April 30 Book Club members from all of the five participating Christian High Schools met at Woodland Christian High School in Breslau for 'The Final Word 2009', a year-end wrap-up event. During the morning, students had a chance to meet each other during book-related activities, to enjoy a short library video, and to vote for a logo from the designs submitted to the contest.

And a major agenda item: the results of last week's vote were announced (students who have read a minimum of 5 books from this year's list of 10 titles are eligible to cast a ballot for their favourite book), and this year's CHSBC Award was given to Run Like Jager by Karen Bass. The story is written from the perspective of a German soldier during WWII. It's a great read for anyone interested in WWII history and the reconciliation that is still happening in Germany today. Highly recommended! After lunch (subs & sundaes--yum!) the winner of the logo contest was announced--our new logo will mark Run Like Jager as the recipient of this year's CHSBC award.

The main event of the day was a visit by Marsha Skrypuch, author of Daughter of War (one of the titles on this year's Book Club list). She spoke to the attendees about her personal story, her experiences as an author, and the challenges of writing about the Armenian genocide, a historical event previously mentioned only as a footnote in one history textbook. After her really interesting presentation, the audience had an opportunity to purchase books and have them autographed, and also to ask one-on-one questions.

The Armenian community at Woodland also became involved in the event, allowing Book Club members to learn more about their Armenian heritage. Thank you to Mrs Titizian, who created a beautiful display of Armenian cultural artifacts and used the colours and cuisine of her homeland in decorating the lunch tables, and to Armen Titizian, a WCHS student, who shared some Armenian music.

Another big thank you is due to the Book Club members and their leaders who made the effort to attend, and for all their enthusiasm and hard work--especially to Mrs. Kroon, Victoria Galleta and Leah Gosen for organizing this event. And, of course, thank you to Marsha Skrypuch for taking the time to visit our school and meet and answer all the questions of Book Club members.