Teacher-librarian Cheryl Anderson believes that giving the gift of reading to the students of Confederation Park Community School provides them with opportunities to be successful in life.
"Our students love to read but do not have the access to books that I did as a child," Anderson says. "I was brought to tears after one of our students, who had just won a book, told me that now he has seven books in his library. The boy was so excited to go home and put his new book on his shelf.
"Another student was so shocked that we had given him a book, and when asked to put his name in it so that it wouldn't get lost, he hesitated and asked quietly, 'Is this a forever book?' He hugged that book so hard when he left."
The chance to provide more of those opportunities for students is why the Confederation Park has been adopted by Indigo at Circle and Eighth as part of its national Adopt a School program. The program runs until Oct. 8 and there are several ways to help support the school in their love of reading and get books into the hands of students.
"Our school has a very diverse population and our focus for our students is to bring all children to at or above grade level in reading, and with this in mind, to provide them with 'good fit' books that spark their interest and provide them with an accurate level for their reading ability," says Principal Pete Chief
"The students are very engaged readers, always working towards their learning goals and searching for new materials to successfully develop their learning strategies."
