![Read Across SMSD December 2024 Foster Confidence- a photo of a tennis player, three debate students, and a high school singer]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1733520470/smsdorg/adqlflhbsfzgshnbz7y9/DecReadAcross202473.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1733520470/smsdorg/adqlflhbsfzgshnbz7y9/DecReadAcross202473.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1733520470/smsdorg/adqlflhbsfzgshnbz7y9/DecReadAcross202473.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1733520470/smsdorg/adqlflhbsfzgshnbz7y9/DecReadAcross202473.jpg","width":835}])
All kinds of settings – whether in the classroom, the stage, athletic fields, or in academic competition – can cause students to have doubts or worries from time to time.
This December, Read Across SMSD is focused on strategies anyone can use to help “Foster Confidence.”
Students from across the Shawnee Mission School District, with the help of Michelle Lord, director of elementary human resources, took some time recently to talk about how they participate and enjoy school activities, even if they are scared sometimes. Click here to see a video.
December’s featured elementary book is “Piper Chen Sings” by Grammy winner and Tony-nominated actress Phillipa Soo and author Maris Pasquale Doran, with illustrations by Qin Leng. In this story, Piper, who loves to sing, is thinking about singing a solo. The idea makes her scared. But, with some advice from a family member, she finds the confidence she needs to sing in front of an audience. It’s an experience several SMSD students say is familiar.
Sometimes Erin O’Neal, a Shawnee Mission Northwest sophomore tennis and soccer player, feels nervous before a big game. One piece of advice she follows from her coach is to always keep her feet moving.
“I also feel better when I remind myself how much I love to play,” she added.
At Shawnee Mission South, Audrey Worrell, a sophomore, Chris Tao, a freshman, and Ashley Ardon, a junior, participate in debate. Sometimes appearing before judges makes Worrell a bit nervous.
“I try to practice in my head before a debate to feel more confident about it,” she explained.
Tao talked about the importance of keeping a winning mindset.
“You go in there, keep your head up, keep breathing, and when you win, it’s like a positive feedback loop!” Tao shared.
Ardon shared that in elementary school, she was learning to speak English and sometimes worried about falling behind. With the help of teachers who encouraged her and told her about her potential, she became fluent in English and Spanish and joined the debate team.
“I want to tell any student like me to keep going!” Ardon shared.
Like Piper Chen, Shawnee Mission West junior Jaxon Hendrix gets nervous before any solo.
“It’s really intense,” he expressed. “The first time I sang a solo I realized, I should keep doing this because it is fun. I always remember to tell myself ‘You are going to do great and you are going to have a great time singing.’ When I start singing, I feel comfortable and enjoy it!”
Michelle Lord shared that even she gets nervous or scared sometimes as she encouraged students to persevere and Read Across SMSD.
“I try to remember to be kind to myself and think positively,” she shared.
December Reading and Learning Resources
Read Across SMSD is modeled after the national Read Across America program and is led in partnership with NEA-Shawnee Mission and the Shawnee Mission Education Foundation. Access to books for Shawnee Mission students is made possible through the Foundation.
Click here for the Read Across SMSD webpage, featuring resources from previous years, archive videos and more information about the program.
Here are the Read Across SMSD December titles from the NEA book list:
Elementary
Piper Chen Sings
By Phillipa Soo and Maris Pasquale Doran
Middle Grade
Simon B. Rhymin’
By Dwayne Reed
Young Adult
Black Girl You Are Atlas
By Renée Watson
