Dartmouth High School students started off the school year by having group discussions about their summer reading.

During their first Friday PASE period of the school year, students met with a staff member to discuss a book they read over the summer. Students could pick from a list of books chosen by staff, who volunteered to have group discussions with the students. 

PASE stands for personalization, advisory, support and enrichment. This time allows students to personalize their education with self scheduling. They can receive advice from teachers, attend an advisory session or enrich their education through experiences. 

The period started with a 20-question quiz on the book, and was followed by a group discussion. 

Superintendent June Saba-Maguire participated for the first time with “The Woman” by Kristin Hannah, which follows women as medics during the Vietnam War. She was pleased to see that students were able to have a deep conversation about the characters’ development and how women were affected by the war. 

“I’ve got to say, they were able to talk about that book in such an engaging way I truly felt they knew more about the book than I did,” said Saba-Maguire, “Their interest in understanding some of the nuances and the impact of the Vietnam War and the impact on the women in particular was really impressive, and I walked away feeling enlightened.” 

Saba-Maguire said she even struggled with a couple of the questions, and was excited to see that the students struggled with the same ones. They were able to have conversations about those questions and the nuances of answering them. 

“It was really fun,” said Saba-Maguire.