Hammond Creek Middle School recently invited author Jordan Sonnenblick to teach a writing workshop where students were encouraged to dive into their creativity.

Over a two-day workshop, Sonnenblick spoke with students about the tremendous positive impact the written word has made upon his life, and how he owes everything he has to the love of books and reading.

“Every good thing that I have in my life has come from the written word in one way or another,” Sonnenblick said. “Because all of my blessings come from the written word, I strongly encourage people to spend as much time as they can with it.”

Sonnenblick engaged students in the writing process by sharing his storytelling experience and by working with them to select topics, draft, revise, and share their original work — all with the goal of becoming confident and capable storytellers.

“The students here were very sparky,” Sonnenblick said. “They had a real spark of fun. There was fantastic politeness here, which you don’t find everywhere.”

As a retired educator, Sonnenblick says he loves visiting schools and working with students to unlock their storytelling potential.

“This lets me stay in touch with the kid part, and I love kids,” Sonnenblick said. “I miss having students of my own, and this helps me remember how much I love this time and getting to hang out and talk about books, writing, and art with kids.”

Sonnenblick applauded Hammond Creek Middle and Dalton Public Schools for their willingness to go the extra mile for their students and for fostering a love of reading and writing in all of their students.

“I hope this community sees and appreciates how great of a resource the staff in this district are,” Sonnenblick said. “Everyone was so engaged in making this a good experience for the kids, and you do not always find that level of cooperation, coordination, and service of the kids everywhere. I just saw so much of it here at Hammond Creek.”