![Hosting the SCLA Casptone Mentor Dinner outside allowed for more attendees on September 27, 2021 at Silver Creek. This event would’ve usually been held inside. According to Lauren Kohn, a SCLA 12 teacher, “If we have a higher number of people, as long as we can host the event outside, then that seems to be keeping every[one] safe”.](https://schsnews.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/sxMAIGbSYGodZkqmrvTi5YWcJ1ssWA08ApkeMLpp-900x675.jpeg)
At the Silver Creek High School book club, many people have a joy of reading and love to talk about it with the other students who participate and by participating students who join gain many ways to connect with others through what they love. The club is split into two different groups, the A lunch group and the B-lunch group. The Book club is an inclusive space for everyone and helps build new relationships by connecting students.
Many activities happen during book club, not just reading, and the community it creates by sharing this group with many other students and librarians could be important for students.
Something very important to not only the Book Club but also the library is the inclusion and diversity of students and the different genres of reading. It’s important to have inclusion to make sure that it is a safe and comfortable space to share students’ ideas.
In “Violet Made of Thorns”, the book that the book club is currently reading, diversity is shown through having different mythical creatures, LGBTQ+ characters, and a war going on between two countries where a citizen from the opposing country is looked down upon.
“I hope everything in the library is [inclusive],” said Tina Fredo, the Assistant Librarian and leader of the B-lunch book club. “It’s inclusive because anyone’s welcome to come and we let [book club] pick the book [that they want to read]”
Something that many members of the book club have mentioned was how great the community is and how they have benefited from being in this community. It allows students to share their ideas in a group that they feel comfortable in and for them to enjoy what they talk about. Katelyn Brown, a 9th grader at Silver Creek High School and a member of the book club, talks about how she feels that book club helped her start to speak up more.
“One of my favorite things about book club isn’t just the books, but the little group we created, the community, and all of us get to connect about something shared and we all enjoy it,” said Brown.
While the community in the book club is great, another benefit is how relaxed it is. There is no stress in reaching the part of the book that everyone else is at and if students like the book that they are reading, they can just come to the meetings to listen in and learn about the book. A big part of being in a book club is enjoying what they do during the meetings and there are usually snacks for people to enjoy.
“The community, the people there, and how everyone loves books and we can argue about one little topic for hours,” said 10th grader Elsa Wirkkanen at Silver Creek High School, who is a member of the book club. “It feels really good and makes me happy, and so do the people, but arguing about books is really good.”
One of the things that the Book Club does is The Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Awards. The Blue Spruce Awards are where each school has a group they send to represent a book and vote on it in different categories. It allows readers to vote for what book they love the most and to meet other readers. In fact, the book club was able to have a representative come in and talk about what the Blue Spruce awards are and she was able to listen in on a meeting.
When looking at the options at Silver Creek, something that most students recommend is joining some sort of activity with the things you like to do and the people you like to hang out with. Whether joining a club or participating in another extracurricular activity, students should find something that they enjoy having in that community. Book Club is a great community for readers and students who just love to talk about books with each other.
