As summer approaches, parent and student volunteers gathered in Helen Haller Elementary’s cafeteria last week to continue the tradition of providing six books for each student to keep and read over the summer.
More than 40 volunteers sorted and bagged thousands of books on May 22 for every student from kindergarten through fifth grade including Sequim School District’s preschool.
For the Six Books project, students could select from more than a dozen age-appropriate books to receive.
Helen Haller’s PTO raised the funds for the project through various fundraisers including last November’s Turkey Trot.
Sheri Kruckeberg, the school’s librarian, said she intends to hand out the book bags in early June during the Cougar Reading and Writing Conference week
Principal Becky Stanton said the purpose of the program is to help stop the summer reading slide.
Representatives with the National Education Association report children can lose up to three months of reading progress if they don’t read regularly during the summer and that loss could have long-term effects.
First Grader Brooklyn Pritchett, 7, reads a book during a break as a volunteer for Helen Haller Elementary’s Six Books for Summer program. She and hundreds of other students will receive six books in June from Helen Haller PTO to help prevent the summer reading slide. Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash
Emma Gilliam, 11, looks for her next book to sort and bag for a second grader as part of Helen Haller Elementary’s Six Books for Summer program. It’s the third year for the program with funding coming from Helen Haller PTO and community support.
Volunteers, from left, Kelsey Horst, Robyn Bacchus, Christina Crabb, and Louis Crabb pull and begin to sort books on May 22 in Helen Haller Elementary’s cafeteria. By the end of the afternoon, thousands of books were bagged for each student to take home as part of the Six Books for Summer program.
