Oxfordian Life
Taking Part in IBD 2022
Upper primary students from Oxford Reynosa gathered at Las Quintas Campus for the International Book Discussion (IBD) event, where they had the chance to interact virtually with Ángela Domínguez, author of “Stella Diaz Has Something to Say”.
The event, which has run for 12 years and in which Oxford has taken part without interruption, is organised by UTRGV as part of FESTIBA 2022 and has grown stronger despite the pandemic, with the participation of St. Matthew’s Episcopal School, Vanguard Academy Beethoven, the Dustin Michael Sekula Memorial Library of Edinburg, Texas, and Colegio Oxford as Mexico’s representative.
For the second consecutive year it was held as a remote conference, though this time we were able to bring the selected students from our different campuses together in one place to exchange ideas with the other participants from the Rio Grande Valley and with the author herself, all of whom were present virtually.
During IBD, students take part in a forum on a selected book, which on this occasion was by Ángela Domínguez, who is also an illustrator. The story follows Stella Diaz, a Mexican-American girl who faces difficulties in communicating and must overcome her shyness because she has something important to say — a theme children often identify with.
The experience was rewarding once again, for the intercultural exchange it represents and for the approach to reading from the author’s angle, which is always revealing.
To be part of this activity, the students selected demonstrate fluency, conversational skills and reading comprehension in English above the standard.
Thanks to events like these, it is possible to strengthen intercultural ties with our neighbouring country.
