‘The Labors of Hercules Beal’ by award-winning author Gary Schmidt has been a labor of love for the Wright City Middle School community.

Thanks to the ‘One school, one book’ program, students at the middle school have undertaken a collective learning of the book through reading and school activities centered on the text.

During a presentation to the R-II board, Sixth-grader Reese Evans said that the chance to participate in activities and house competitions centered on the book, some of which directly involved Schmidt, added depth to learning.

“We worked (with the author),” Evans said. “This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I had a lot of fun doing it. Gary was super nice and all of the other (collaborating students) ideas were super cool. Being an author is cool and it (creative writing) is really interesting. I’m enjoying reading the book. I was actually reading it walking to fourth hour.”

Middle school Principal Taylor Backues said that the sense of community the project has instilled has been nothing short of amazing.

She presented the program to the R-II school board during its March meeting.

“One thing the middle school has done for the very first time is a ‘one school, one book’ study,” Backues said. “We’ve done that through our house system and that’s grades five through eight. That way, we create a unified talking point for all of our kids.”

Madison Mielke, a fifth-grade science teacher at the school, extolled the virtues of teaching the book and its far-reaching implications, even in her area of focus.

“I was asked to join the group that created all the questions and activities for ‘One school, one book,’” Mielke said. “I ended up reading the book over winter break before we started talking about it and I got so excited because it was all about science. During Wildcat time, I have many readers who do not like reading. Having a book they could connect with and talk about with their friends made it much more interesting. They read it during Wildcat time, but they come together, and every single grade has read the same book. They know what they’re talking about because they’ve read the same book.”

During his visit to the school, Schmidt attended two student assemblies, held a book signing at lunch, and answered students’ questions about his book.

With the program's success, school library/media specialist Jani Wilkens said she hopes to see it continue in future years with different books and authors.

“Our inaugural program this year went well, having everyone in our entire middle school sharing in the reading of ‘The Labors of Hercules Beal’ by Gary D. Schmidt, and then having the author spend the day with us, made the reading experience extra special for our students,” Wilkens said. “We hope to continue the program again in future years, and I’ve already applied for grants and have found financial support in the Wright City community with families through our Scholastic Book Fair and with business leaders like Kelly Hill of Shelter Insurance.”