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Reading Department
Awards and Highlights
2007-2008
(August 2008)
 Author
and South Holland resident Earl Sewell revisited H-F High
 School
to discuss how his new book “If I Were Your Boyfriend” relates to H-F students
on Wednesday, July 23rd, in the South Building Library. Sewell visited H-F
recently in March to talk about his other book “Keysha’s Dream,” which has many
references to his childhood growing up on the west side of Chicago. During the
visit, students had the chance to ask any questions they had for Sewell after
reading the book themselves. From their questions, Sewell put together real-life
situation skits that helped students relate to the situations characters in the
book encountered. Attendees also received a free copy of the book along with an
auto-graph by Sewell himself.
(April
2008)
 Author
LeAlan Jones took time throughout the day to speak and sign
 autographs
for students on Friday, April 11th. LeAlan's book called "Our America: Life and
Death on the South Side of Chicago" has been read by many H-F students.
(March
2008) H-F's Reading Department Chair
Nancy Spaniak (center) and Reading Specialists Tammy Hunter (left) and Adriana
Diachenko (right) had the privilege to
 present
"Building A Comprehensive High School Reading Program That Works"
at the March 2008 Illinois Reading Council state-wide conference in Springfield,
IL.
(March
2008) Author Earl Sewell spent the
day at H-F and talked to students about
 his
successful career in writing on Wednesday, March 5, in Room E1. Students had the
opportunity to discuss his popular book, Keysha's Drama. The follow up
book to Keysha's Drama, If I Were Your Boyfriend, is due to be
released this Spring.
(February
2008)Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu, a 1992
graduate of H-F, spoke to
 students
and staff about her life as an award-winning author on Thursday, February 21st,
in the library. Nnedi has recently published the award nominated book "Shadow
Speaker," which is a finalist for the 2008 Essence Magazine Literary Award, is a
Winter 2007/08 Booksense Pick, and is a finalist for the 39th Annual NAACP Image
Awards. Among her other recognized novels is her 2005 publication of "Zahrah the
Windseeker," which was nominated as a finalist for the Golden Duck Award. To
learn more about Nnedi success's, please go to her website at
http://nnedi.com/
(October
2007) The Reading Department has
been highlighted with a two-page spread in the October 2007 issue of Chicago
Magazine.
2006-2007
(September 2006) The Reading Department has been chosen by the Illinois State Board of
Education as a Those Who Excel winner. The Reading Department has
won an Award of Excellence in the category of Team.
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