MV Reads Together Kicks Off!

This brand new project kicked off yesterday with two activities: (1) a Read Aloud at noon at the library and (2) a mixed program at Google. Mayor Nick Galiotto and MVWSD Superintendent Dr. Maurice Ghysels were among those who spoke at the kickoff.



The highlight of the Google event was the playing of "Silent Beats" and an opportunity to hear from and ask questions of the writer/director, Jon Chu. He said his feature film directorial debut will be "The Prom," to be released in 2008.

Out of 39 surveys received at the kickoff, all indicated they enjoyed the activity (a few didn't mark yes or no). Almost exclusively, what people most enjoyed was the movie and Jon Chu. Not all indicated what they least enjoyed; when people did, they mentioned the length of the intro speakers, and several wanted more content to do with the book itself. A few commented on the difficulty of finding Google and that it was hard to hear some speakers.

We encourage you to participate in MV Reads Together online. Note the new link on this blog to let you watch "Silent Beats" on your computer. It seems that every time one watches this film, the more one notices.

This film will be shown again at one of the last events, Activity #18: Experiencing Stereotypes, which takes place at Samovar Hall, adjoining MV's Russian store, Samovar. This venue will allow us to gather together and have a facilitated discussion about the film and the stereotypes we've personally experienced.

If you attended either of the Nov. 1 activities and feel like commenting, please do so by clicking on "comments" below this posting. Under "Choose an identity," if you do not have a Blogger identity, we encourage you to choose "Other" and enter your name and neighborhood or zip code. For example, "Jane Smith, Monta Loma" or "Jane, 94043."