RIF day at Evergreen made possible by two KP
organizations
By Marsha Hart, KP News
Every child is encouraged to read, and some
enjoy it and others not so much. But every child
in every class at Evergreen Elementary School
was excited to choose a book during the Reading
Is Fun program in October.
Ross Allen and Curtis Staples carefully
browse the
selection of RIF books on
the tables in the library of
Evergreen Elementary School in late
October.
Parent and
community member
David Mikelson, in the background,
waits to read with a student. The
students are treated to RIF,
a
program that offers a free book to each
student, three
times a year.
This
program is made possible in part by a
donation from
the Key Peninsula
Veterans Institute, and the Angel Guild.
There is a federal grant for the
program, but it doesn’t cover
all of
the costs, said Robin Roe, the school’s
librarian.
Photo by Mindi Larose
|
The school receives a federal grant to fund the
program, but it doesn’t fully fund it, said
school librarian Robin Roe. The Key Peninsula
Veterans Institute donates a matching fund to
make the program possible, along with donations
from the Angel Guild, a she said.
“Every student in the building will get three
books each year,” she said. “Each class has 20
minutes to select books.”
Community members and parents participate in the
exciting day as well, by reading the chosen book
with the child.
Chawndra Hicks first chose an easy book, but was
redirected by her teacher to find something more
challenging. She hesitated at first, but chose a
book of poetry that she was happy with.
“I love poetry,” she said, “My Mom has a lot of
poetry books, and there’s rhymes in it and I
love rhymes. I can read chapter books and I’m
only 7.”
Michelle Scherer teaches second grade, and she
said the RIF program could spark a child’s
interest in reading.
“I think it’s really exciting for them to
realize where reading can take them,” she said.
“It’s an opportunity for them to choose a new
book, which many of them have probably not had
the opportunity to do before.”
Each RIF day has a theme at Evergreen, and this
one was “Road Trip.” The students were
encouraged to wear shirts that were from
different parts of the state or country, and
each child was given a bookmark made from
laminated pieces of old Atlases.
RIF is something they don’t forget. Second
grader, Jeff (who didn’t give his last name)
said he enjoys all sorts of books, especially
adventure stories.
“My other book from RIF was about heroes,” he
said.
