Black History Month (BHM), which takes place every February, is a time to remember people and events that are important in black history.

To celebrate BHM this year, the school is having a book club for staff members, a display outside the library, bookmarks for coloring, black history first chapter fridays, and trivia. In their book club, staff members are reading The Davenports by Krystal Marquis, a historical fiction romance novel. Language arts teacher Noelle Rocklage said that the novel is about one family who is treated fairly only due to their class status.

“The story is about an African American family that has both. What is very annoying is that, unfortunately, it took class/money for this particular family to be treated fairly, or as ‘equals’ to their white counterparts,” Rocklage said.

Science teacher Sarah Moonier said that she loves the genre of historical fiction and she likes that it can help her learn about the experiences of others and how it is different from her life.

“I love historical fiction especially when I can learn about experiences people had that are unlike my life. It helps me better understand the human condition and others perspectives,” Moonier said.

Assistant principal Sarah Goodman said she loves to read and thinks that celebrating black history is important and she used to be an english teacher so she will always appreciate the opportunity to talk about books.

“I love to read, and I think it’s important to learn about and celebrate black history. Before I was an assistant principal, I was an English teacher, so I won’t turn down an opportunity to talk about books,” Goodman said.

Moonier said that she started to read more during the pandemic and has been reading more ever since, and she said she decided to join the club so she could talk to others about what she reads.

“During the pandemic I started reading more to pass the time and I’ve become pretty addicted to reading novels. I joined the club so I could have the opportunity to talk about them with others. Sometimes I read a book and feel compelled to see if others thought the same as me in various events or based on characters,” Moonier said.

Rocklage said that she has been in many different book clubs and even though they are all with different books, she said that the overall goal of the club is the same.

“Over the past 10 years, I have been a part of several different book clubs (in 3 different states). While each book club has a distinct vibe (ranging from more socializing/less book talk to more book talk/less camaraderie), the overall goal is the same: read, gather, & discuss something that you may not otherwise have chosen,” Rocklage said.