Eighth-Graders At Moos Introduce ‘Book Buddies’ To Students

Reading time has become even more fun and intimate for students at Moos Elementary School thanks to their Book Buddies Program.

All eighth grade students are required to work on a community service project as part of the IB requirements.

This year three eighth graders struggled with finding a project, said their MYP (Middle Years Programme) coordinator, Teena Van Dyke. She directed that group to the WE Organization’s website, an international group that unites young adults in an effort for change.

The WE Read Together campaign captured their attention, Van Dyke said.

“I asked them what made this one stand out and they said it was looking at one of the facts about how many students graduate who still can’t read,” she said.

The students wanted to focus on literacy so Van Dyke helped set everything up and they visited a first grade class and broke into small groups with books selected by the younger children.

The first time went so well in March that the students were able to get the entire school involved the second round last month.

“Some were hesitant in the beginning, but by the end we couldn’t separate them,” Van Dyke said. “It was really a very inspirational moment for all of us.”

Esteban Robles, 13, said that he was nervous at first because he’s never read a book to a child before, but the experience was a good one.

“They had a lot of questions about the book, but it was fun and I’d do it again,” said the Humboldt Park resident.

Bianca Olvera, 13, said that she chose this project because she has two siblings and wants to see them read more.

“After I graduate I hope kids will do more than I did with this project and take it further than we did as a group,” she said.

Her classmate Sonia Ronan, 14, said she was also nervous when she and a partnered rotated turns reading to a group of girls.

“I thought I was going to stutter, but fortunately I didn’t and I did good,” she said. “They were asking a lot of questions. I think this is awesome and a chance to connect with the kids and help them with reading.”

The school is discussing ways to make the school-wide reading program a weekly occurrence and also host a book drive.