Archive: Around Town

TST BOCES Exceptional Education students recently held an "Author's Tea" visit with Dan Brown, Executive Director of Franziska Racker Centers.

As the children sat around Brown on the floor, he read the book "Fin M'coul: The Giant of Knockmany Hill" by Tomie dePaola, which is an adventure story of an Irish giant who outwits his arch rival, Cucullin.

After the reading of "Fin M'coul," the students had the opportunity to share their own stories that they had written in class. Many students had researched a topic or read other books for inspiration to create their own story. One student wrote about dinosaurs and researched online to learn the scientific names and characteristics of specific dinosaurs. Another student read versions of "The Three Bears," and created his own work, "The Three Dragons."


The project inspired imagination in writing and artistic creativity. The students drew pictures to accompany their story line that were shown during the reading. Author's Tea occurs regularly at the TST BOCES Smith School.

After each child read their story, the floor was open for feedback and questions from peers. There were many positive and encouraging comments from the audience, including "I really love your picture," "It was neat that yours was based on a real story" and "I just loved the whole book in general."

The visit concluded with snacks and conversation with mint green milk and green sprinkle sugar cookies in honor of St. Patrick's Day.

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