February 20, 2009

Elementary Students Take Okanagan Literacy Adventures

KELOWNA, BC: Each week, 56 students in School District No. 23 have the chance to take home a backpack filled with potential adventures. The backpacks contain books considered among the best and most popular examples of youth literature. Each one represents a different type of experience. Children who wish to take a rainforest adventure can read Verdi; for an automotive adventure there is Eyewitness Car; How Groundhog’s Garden Grew takes them on an agricultural adventure. The backpacks contain new titles as well as old favourites such as Where the Wild Things Are, which is in the “dramatic” category.

The backpack borrowing system is made possible through Okanagan Literacy Adventures, a program launched by four teachers in this District: Jessica Anjos from Ellison Elementary, Brandy Dufour and Carrie Hebert from Chief Tomat Elementary, and Amy Van Buren from Watson Road Elementary. The Kiwanis High Noon Club donated $4,000 to the program last summer allowing the teachers to construct 56 backpacks. Children take a backpack home on a Thursday and return it on a Tuesday. Each of four classes involved in the program has 14 backpacks that rotate among the students.

“Our purpose is to connect adults with their children through the medium of good literature,” says Dufour. “We are passionate about encouraging meaningful conversations and quality relationships through realistic, and sometimes adventurous, experiences.”

During Education Week (March 9-13, 2009), District Directors of Instruction will visit three schools to find out from students, Kiwanis members and parents how the program has affected students’ literacy skills and enjoyment of reading. The Directors invited to the sessions have never seen the Okanagan Literacy Adventure backpacks and organizers hope to hear candid feedback.

The idea for this program originated with two primary teachers Helen Fisher and Shannon Basisty from Olds, Alberta who started a similar program in their classrooms many years ago. They wrote a book about their successful experience and presented the concept at a professional development seminar. “We saw their presentation last February and thought it was a great idea,” says Van Buren. “Their program didn't suit our grades or exact needs, so we significantly reconstructed it.”

Interested media and parents are invited to visit schools during the following times to hear more about Okanagan Literacy Adventures:

Approved by the Superintendent February 19, 2009

__________________________________________________________________________________________

For comments, please contact:

Brandy Dufour, Teacher, Chief Tomat Elementary, (250) 768-6628

Amy Van Buren, Teacher, Watson Road, (250) 762-6633

Carrie Hebert, Teacher, Chief Tomat Elementary, (250) 768-6628

Jessica Anjos, Teacher, Ellison Elementary, (250) 765-8104

Mike Roberts, Superintendent of Schools (250) 860-8888

Mike Roberts, Superintendent of Schools (250) 860-8888

For background information: please contact Lisa Harrison lharriso@sd23.bc.ca or 470-3284.