Photo Flash: Elisabeth Morrow School Annual Book Fair - Highlights

Related: Elisabeth Morrow School, Book Fair, Hurricane Sandy

Only a week after Hurricane Sandy hit and two days after the power was restored in Englewood, NJ, The Elisabeth Morrow School hosted their annual book fair in The Peter Lawrence Gymkhana on campus. The annual book fair raises money for the school, through raffles and book sales, and includes author panels and readings for the entire family. Although event organizers worried about whether the book fair would be able to open in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, the event went on without a hitch. Scroll below for photos from the event.

The book fair kicked off with a tea reception for faculty, followed by three days filled with visits by notable authors to campus who participated in live readings, discussions and Q&A sessions. Among the authors present were Robert McAllister, M.D., Ph. D. whose last book, “An Alzheimer’s Love Story,” describes the course of his wife’s illness prior to her death in February 2012; Scott Mebus, novelist, composer and playwright, well known for his children's urban fantasy series “Gods of Manhattan”; and novelist Emily Jenkins, whose children's books have won numerous awards, including Boston Globe-Horn Book Award honors and the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Book Award.

The featured discussion of the book fair surrounded Barbara Coloroso's breakthrough book "The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander" led by Lower School Head Beth Brennan. The discussion highlighted Coloroso's findings as well as Principal Brennan's own take on this very serious matter. Some key points Principal Brennan outlined were the importance of allowing all children to try out roles as the learn and grown. She noted that, unfortunately, many people respond to these roles in ways that typecast children. She advised that parents and educators must work to help children move away from labeling in this way and more towards changing attitudes. Principal Brennan also stressed that it is important, as bystanders, to show action; more bystanders have to be willing to get involved in situations where they see harm being done to another human being, lest they run the risk of passively accepting violence and thus becoming desensitized to it. Finally, Principal Brennan clarified the key point that bullying is not about anger, it is about conflict. She stressed that at The Elisabeth Morrow School the social curriculum is as strong as the academic curriculum, teaching children key social skills: how to be a friend, what it looks like to be kind, how to accept others' opinions and how to work towards a greater good. The four C's: Courtesy, Cooperation, Compassion, Consideration are the keystones to The Elisabeth Morrow School.

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