Altrusa teams up with kids in pilot book-club project
Nancy Horst, Special to the Gazette
Friday, October 17, 2008
The Altrusa Club and YouthFriends have teamed up to sponsor a new book club at Logan Avenue Elementary. Altrusa members accepted an invitation earlier this year from YouthFriends Coordinator Heather Wagner to be part of a pilot book club. Eight fourth graders were selected to be part of the school’s first book study group, the Logan Avenue Bookworms, according to Carla Fessler, the school’s student support specialist.
The students meet with Altrusa members once a month to discuss the book “A Week in the Woods” by Andrew Clements.
“Everyone has a good time and looks forward to discussing their readings each month,” Fessler said.
The book club meets during lunch. “It’s a traditional book study where they talk about what they read and sometimes the mentors will read aloud from the book,” Fessler said.
The books were selected by the fourth grade teachers at Logan Avenue and purchased by YouthFriends. Students were selected based on their interest in reading.
Book club members are Taylor Crowell, Bailey Meade, Allanette Rodriguez, Nathaniel Castillo, Jailine Alvarez, Elaina Pacheacano and Tamia Victor. The eighth member has moved away, Fessler said. Participating Altrusa members are Jean Tidwell, Sharon Linhart, Rita Wurtz, Bev Miller and Prue Schmidt.
A second book study and a new group of students will be selected in January.