Wheeler Avenue students go pup wild for reading

Wheeler Avenue Elementary School launched its One Book, One School Initiative in partnership with the PTA’s Pick A Reading Partner (PARP), a school-wide program aimed at fostering students’ love for reading.

PARP’s literacy initiative encouraged students to devote 20 minutes of family reading time each night for three weeks during the month of March. The reading challenge began on March 7 and concluded on March 25. This year’s PARP theme was “Wild About Reading.” To start off the program with some literary pizzazz, Wheeler Avenue’s mascot, Chirpy, alongside one of the reading teachers, went around the classrooms to explain the purpose of PARP to students.

This year, the One Book, One School initiative provided a ‘pup-tastic’ adventure for our young readers. First, students read Dog Days by Karen English in their classrooms. The story features a student named Gavin who must learn to navigate the various challenges of being the new kid at school. When Gavin finally makes a new friend, he gets in trouble while on their play date. Not only does Gavin risk losing his pal, but as punishment, he must also take care of his great aunt Myrtle’s horrible little, pink bow-wearing Pomeranian. And it only gets harder from there.

The book helped convey to students the importance of respecting elders, taking responsibility for one’s actions, and successfully dealing with bullies. The young readers also listened to the song Who Let The Dogs Out as it blasted through the school intercom while they decorated their school building’s vestibule with pictures of dogs.

To round off the program, students went on a virtual field trip to the Ruff House dog rescue center to meet with the staff, volunteers, and the canines, sponsored by Ruff House Rescue and Student Council. Students also explored online educational platforms such as Kahoot and Flipgrid with their fellow classmates to help facilitate meaningful conversations about the books they read. As a side prize, students with the most minutes of reading logged earned Scholastic Bucks for the school’s next book fair.