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Scholastic gives Eugene Ware class the gift of knowledge
By Rayma Silvers
The Fort Scott Tribune
When Eugene Ware kindergarten teacher Julie Reynolds and her students decided to help children in New York, they had no idea they too would reap the benefits of their hard work.
In September as part of Scholastic Book Clubs' Classrooms Care Program, Reynolds challenged her class to read 100 books. If the students met the 100-book goal, Scholastic promised to donate books to the Children's Village in New York City. What Reynolds didn't know was that every classroom that read 100 books was entered into Scholastic's Care Where You Are sweepstakes. As a result of the sweepstakes, Reynolds' class was one of 200 classrooms chosen out of 16,000 to receive 500 free books.
"This is just so exciting," Reynolds said. "When we started the Classroom Care Program, I just thought they (Scholastic) were going to donate to the Children's Village in New York. It was just something to do to better the world. I had no idea we were going to be entered in the sweepstakes."
When asked if it was difficult to read the 100 books required to be entered into the sweepstakes, several of the students in Reynolds' class said it was not an easy task.
"It was really hard," Jadelynne Russell said. Explaining why she worked so diligently to read that many books, Russell added, "(I did it) because I wanted to help us all get 100 books. That was the bestest way to get 100 books."
Hayley Bean said, "Reading 100 books was hard but we did it because we knew how to read."
Agreeing with the other students, Virgil Hull said, "It was hard (to read that many books)."
Since the students in Reynolds' class are just now learning to read, completing the 100 books did prove to be a challenge.
"I've only been reading till I was five," Russell said, "and I'm five now."
According to Reynolds, the task could not have been completed if the students' parents had not offered to help with the project.
"I want to say a special thank you to the parents," Reynolds said. "If it wasn't for them working at home, we wouldn't have reached our goal."
Although several of the students said reading the books was a challenge, Chandler Lawrence said he did not have much difficulty completing the task.
"It was easy," he said. "I just pointed at each word and figured it out."
Reynolds said participating in the reading program helped her students learn to read.
"It motivated them to read early," Reynolds said.
Several of the students in Reynolds' class talked about the importance of being able to read.
"(Reading is important) so you can get into first grade," Reaghn Dowell said. "When you get older, you can read to your children."
Each of the students in Reynolds' class were able to choose a book to take home with them. The rest of the books will be shared with other classrooms at Eugene Ware and at the Fort Scott Middle School, according to Reynolds. Courtney Meek said she was happy to find out about winning the 500 books.
"(Five hundred is) a bunch of books," Meek said. "I think it is good to do it (share with other classes at school) because you can share and be good to them."
According to Eugene Ware Elementary principal Billie Jo Drake, many of the Eugene Ware classrooms participated in Scholastic's Classrooms Care Program this year.
"I was just excited they participated in Classrooms that Care," Drake said. "Almost every eligible classroom in our building participated. We felt very fortunate Mrs. Reynolds was one of the winners."