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Seedling Mile Elementary School students win national book donation sweepstakes
Seedling Mile Elementary School is one of 200 schools nationwide selected as winners of the Scholastic Book Clubs' "Care Where You Are" sweepstakes through the ClassroomsCare program.
Each winning school receives at least 500 books to donate within the school's community. Seedling Mile will receive 560 books.
Seedling Mile Elementary School students will present the 500 books to Grand Island Public Schools Outreach Coordinator Verna Haberman at a school assembly at 7:55 a.m. Friday, March 26, at the school at 3208 E. Seedling Mile Road.
ClassroomsCare program is a philanthropic literacy initiative that encourages reading by asking students in classrooms nationwide to read 100 books. In turn, Scholastic donates up to one million books to needy students. Scholastic has donated more than nine million books since 2001 through the program.
Seedling Mile first-grade teacher Susan Stoeger said Seedling Mile kindergarten teacher Mandie Julesgard suggested that the school's students participate in the ClassroomsCare program. Julesgard is a member of Seedling Mile's School Improvement Team, and the team felt that participation in the program supported their school improvement reading goal.
All seven classrooms at Seedling Mile participated in reading 100 books, and four of the seven classrooms entered the opportunity to receive 500 books to donate in the community.
The entry from Stoeger's classroom was among 200 chosen from more than 12,000 entries. Stoeger explained how students decided to donate the books to the school district's Outreach Program, which provides support services to homeless students and families needing education, health, or social services assistance.
"Verna Haberman comes to my classroom every November to read the book, 'Cooper's Tale.' In the story, Cooper the mouse finds himself homeless. She discusses ways to be a friend. My students knew her and what work she does with Grand Island Public Schools students as the outreach coordinator," Stoeger said.
Haberman will receive 560 hardback and paperback books from Scholastic to give to students through two programs -- the summer "Take a Break" program and the "Food for Thought" program. Because Haberman has purchased books for these programs before, she has experience in matching the books with student reading levels, Stoeger said.
"Take a Break" is a summer reading program offered at six elementary schools. In the "Food for Thought" program, a qualifying student receives a backpack to take home every weekend containing items such as canned fruit, vegetables, soup, and cereal.
Scholastic Book Clubs is a division of Scholastic Corp. and reach more than one million teachers monthly. Since 2001, Scholastic Book Clubs has donated more than eight million books through its ClassroomsCare program. Scholastic Corp. is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books.
For more information, contact: Lee Wolfe, Principal, Seedling Mile Elementary School, 3208 E. Seedling Mile Road, (308) 385-5910,lwolfe@gips.org; Susan Stoeger, First-Grade Teacher, Seedling Mile Elementary School, 3208 E. Seedling Mile Road, (308) 385-5910, sstoeger@gips.org
It is the policy of the Grand Island Public Schools not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, handicap, religion, or marital status in its educational programs, activities or employment policies as required by Title VI, Title IX, &Section 504.EOE/AA.