Strathmore library hosts summer reading program

By Lorenzo Gavilan Vargas Times Reporter

To help combat the recent decline of literacy, the Strathmore Municipal Library has decided to hold a reading program for the summer.

According to coordinator Shayla Kopp, the program will consist of eight different age groups spanning from kindergarten to Grade 7, as well as a program for teens aged 13-17. The groups will be split into three different one hour-long sessions. These will take place once a week, with the whole program spanning a total of six weeks.

The team of coordinators of the program are Kopp, Nickia Wheeler and Karissa Carlson. Through this program, they plan on fighting the recent decline of literacy.

“We’re going to make sure that we promote literacy and have kids continue to read throughout the summer so that their reading ability doesn’t continue to decline,” said Wheeler. 

They plan on promoting literacy through different means. The program will be held outside, giving kids the chance to participate in activities while being encouraged to read.

“We’re trying to do it in a fun way because not all kids enjoy reading and trying to promote that can be difficult, so we’re trying to engage them through different activities.” Carlson said.

Added Wheeler: “We aren’t really doing classroom time. It’s more fun games and activities.”

At the end of the program, there will be prizes for those who read the most in each age group and prizes for whole groups.

“We have a reading log, so the kids and the teams keep track of how much they read. In each age group, whoever has read the most gets a prize, and for the teams this year we’re doing a Minute to Win It tournament,” said Kopp. “Right now we’ve got a whole bunch of books and a whole bunch of board games coming in. We have a chocolate gift basket, we have a family pass, Lazy Day Rafting in Calgary donated a six person pass for a family to go rafting down the river in Calgary, so we got lots of cool stuff.”

Registration for the Summer Reading Program and the Teen Summer Reading Program opens on June 12. Applications for volunteering are due on June 26, and all volunteers are written a reference letter at the end of the program. Information, registration and volunteer applications can be accessed online (www.strathmorelibrary.ca).