This article was written by middle school students Radhika R. and Ida F.

Author-in-residence Kari Anne Holt (K.A. Holt) visited Singapore American School in September. During her two week residency, award-winning author K.A. Holt presented insights into her books and writing process. Middle school students share their takeaways from the sessions with the talented author:

Being able to meet, talk, and learn from K.A Holt was such an amazing opportunity. Not only was K.A. Holt nice, but she also had a lot of tips up her sleeves about writing—especially poetry. We were able to do a lot of fun activities with her. For instance, we created a blackout poem which required us to find interesting words on a page. We then had to write a poem with those words while blacking out all the other words. We also got into groups of two or three where everyone had to name any item from a poem. For example, someone from our class said avocados, and then another student had to write about avocados. This made me realize that you can get a lot more inspiration from doing fun activities!

K.A. Holt also taught us all about poems. I have never really read or write poems, but she changed that for me, especially with her book House Arrest. She taught us about all the different aspects of poetry—I always thought poetry was just some rhymes or verses. K.A. Holt was an amazing inspiration to me as she taught me the techniques for writing poetry.

I am so glad that SAS was able to bring K.A. Holt to our school. She brought her amazing attitude and positive vibe, not just with me but also with all other sixth grade students. She was always so patient with us and she always had a smile on her face. She was a good influence on us. Overall, the experience with K.A. Holt was incredible. I would like to thank SAS for inviting K.A. Holt to be the visiting author-in-residence!

—by Radhika R., sixth grade student

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K.A. Holt visited SAS for two whole weeks! 

During this time, with the help of her class lessons, I learned several things. For example, I learned that there is something called free verse poetry. It’s basically poetry with NO rules. This is interesting because I think both me and my classmates thought that poetry was just boring old rhymes that are hard to write, but with the help of the amazing K.A. Holt, we learned that poetry can be anything! Another interesting lesson that K.A. Holt taught me is that when you write, don’t think too hard. She said that if you think too much, you will just take away the unique part of your piece. K.A. Holt had me and my classmates perform an activity, where we had to write a poem of a random object that our partner gave us, but we only had about thirty seconds. This made it almost impossible to think and every single poem was unique in its own way. 

One interesting fact I learned about K.A. Holt is how much work she puts into publishing and printing her books. She told us that each book takes up to a year to publish. She gets about a total of twenty pages of feedback for each book before it is published, but she still never gives up. That’s pretty fascinating. K.A. Holt has inspired me to be a writer one day. Her attitude toward writing inspires me. I want to express myself with words, just like K.A. Holt does with her poems.

I think the biggest takeaway for me is that even if something is tough, keep at it, and you might get something great in return. K.A. Holt explained how it was all worth it. I think this is an important life lesson for everybody. Keep at it.

SAS brings visiting authors to teach lessons in all three divisions. This is great because we are able to meet successful authors who can tell us about their writing journey.

K.A. Holt is a unique, special author who taught us some amazing lessons. Thank you, K.A. Holt!

—Ida F., sixth grade student
 

PTA SPONSORED VISITORS-IN-RESIDENCE PROGRAM

The Parent Teacher Association (PTA) is one of the key pillars of the SAS community. The countless volunteer hours committed on the part of hundreds of PTA volunteers helps to raise money for investing in community building activities across campus throughout the year. The PTA donates the balance of its money to the school at the end of each year.

In 2018-19, the PTA contributed remaining funds as a gift to the SAS Foundation. This $300,000 gift was earmarked for the signature academic visitors-in-residence program, bringing renowned authors, illustrators, artists, actors, and dance professionals to campus to work with students in all three divisions.

The comprehensive academic visitors-in-residence program allows students to deeply understand the craft and work of professional artists and develop a lifelong appreciation for the arts. Students are able to develop relevant learning skills in relation to creativity and different modes of communication. These visits result in a greater sense of community that connects the head and the heart.