Happy Thursday, everyone! Sharing her thoughts with us today is our Director of Marketing & Merchandising, Betsi Ashby. Betsi joined our community 5 months ago and has effortlessly weaved right into the fabric that is SLOCA. Please join us in welcoming Betsi as she shares about one of our staff summer events and what’s coming up!
Staff Summer Book Club
Including myself, SLOCA has brought on a slew of new staff this year. It makes for quite a dynamic shift in work relationships, as well as new people to know! Each summer, staff is required to read a book that sets the tone for our theme for the upcoming year, along with a couple other optional books. This summer’s reads were centered on wisdom (and of course, Medieval times). They were: Philosophy 101, The Brother Karamazov, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
It seemed only natural, with a group full of learners reading the same book on a break, we take the opportunity to get together, on more casual terms, and discuss these great books! Hence, the Staff Summer Book Club. As to not harsh the summer vibes, we stayed off campus, meeting up at happy hour locales downtown––supporting our local businesses, while getting a head start on getting to know one another.
We met four times:
Philosophy 101 @ Guisseppe’s
Sir Gawain & the Green Knight @ Luna Red
Brothers Karamatzov parts I & II @ Sidecar
Brothers Karamatzov parts III & IV @ Flour House
These turned out to be such fun, intimate gatherings––with lots of inspiring discussions, each staff member bringing their own expertise, interests, and approach to texts. For some, it was their first time reading philosophy or tackling Dostoyevsky, while for others, they had been reading (even teaching) these texts for years. It’s not often we get to hear our Little Wonders director, latin teacher, and philosophy teacher discuss Socrates and how they interpret him in their own searches for wisdom, all over wine and oysters on a shady restaurant patio. They were rich times that I hope continue to spur on talks in school hallways and meaningful relationships between staff, and creates an annual tradition.
Our summer book club did not replace our more established fall book discussions, this year led by Mike Godsey and Thaddeus Kozinski. Join us for the next three on September 25th, October 16th, and October 30th. We look forward to continuing the talks with staff and parents together!
To sunshine and paperbacks,
Betsi
Are you a part of a book club or considering starting one? Let us know your own experiences below!
