Recently, our school, through our local Usborne books representative, Alyssa Truman, held a Reach for the Stars reading program.  The program served many purposes; 1) it motivated the students to read by providing incentives, 2) it provided free books to students who read a certain number of pages, and 3) it provided a total of $750 to the Books to the Trail program in Alaska!!!  It was a win, win situation.  The kids at Southern Fulton Elementary School won, Usborne books won, and the students in Alaska won. What a great opportunity for everyone involved. 

Mrs. Trail (Principal), Lucy (The Husky), Target Iditarod 2010 TOTT (That's me), Alyssa Truman of Usborne Books

 This may sound like a great accomplishment to some, but it was pretty much a no brainer for the kids at Southern Fulton.  You see, Southern Fulton Elementary was the winner of a National Title I Distinguished School Award last year.  Not only that, but they have achieved AYP 6 years in a row. What I’m saying is that the students at Southern Fulton know how important reading is to learning.     

 Reading is one of the most important things we can learn to do in our lifetime.  Reading opens many doors. Books are windows to places we may never go.  Reading allows us to travel to places and vicariously experience things without ever leaving our living rooms.  And, most importantly, it allows us to be our own teacher.  We spend such a short time of our life in school, but we spend a lifetime learning. Hence, the most important job a teacher performs is to teach a student how to teach themselves.  Reading is one of the most important tools in the tool box for achieving this practice.

 So, do you want to get involved?  Do you want to help with Books to the Trail?  Another great lesson the students learn from this program is helping others.  It’s a great feeling to help someone else.  If you want to get involved, go to http://www.bookstothetrails.webs.com/ become part of putting books in the hands of the students in Alaska and your students. You’ll be glad you did.     

 ***If reading opens doors, and books are windows, that makes the library the Lowe’s Building Center of life.