Rushe Middle goes extra mile to encourage reading By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
Students from Rushe Middle School traipsed through Barnes & Noble at The Shops at Wiregrass, on a scavenger hunt to solve a riddle. They went from place to place picking up new clues in a search that finally led them to the discovery of the selection for the book the We Be Book’n club will read over the next few months. The big unveil took place on Nov. 11, and the school-wide book club will read the young adult adaptation of “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand. It tells the story of Olympian Louis Zamperini’s journey from airman to castaway to captive. Students, accompanied by their parents, dropped by a table to get pointers on how the scavenger hunt worked, and picked up their first clue. As they solved one clue in one part of the bookstore, they received another clue that led them to a different part of the bookstore. They concluded their search by meeting former Sgt. Robert Loring, a veteran who was a qualified parachute jumpmaster in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Rushe faculty members Dawn Gilliland and Kelli Rapaport came up with the idea of creating a school-wide book club, according to school principal David Salerno.The principal was quickly onboard with the idea, and Rushe’s teachers, staff and parents have been great supporters, Gilliland said. Gilliland — an information and communication technology literacy coach at Rushe — and Rapport, an intensive reading teacher, said the book club aims to motivate kids to read. So far, more than 100 students
have joined the voluntary club. “It’s just for fun,” Rapaport said. “We just want to get kids excited about literacy.” Both women view themselves as avid readers and want to pass along their love of the written word to Rushe’s students. They selected an informational text because they want to help students develop the ability to read for information. They also wanted students to see that these kinds B.C. MANION/STAFF PHOTO of books can be fasSgt. Robert Loring, a veteran who served in the U.S. Marine Corps cinating. Reserve, unveils the book that the We Be Book’n book club is reading “We see kids at Rushe Middle School. who just aren’t reading, especially informational texts,” Gilliland said. “They capped weeks of buildup. Rushe staff don’t have that passion.” members helped create a sense of exciteHillenbrand’s book recounts a story ment through dramatizations during about perseverance, Salerno said. It’s a which they pretended to beg for the book character trait he hopes students will de- title’s name, offered bribes for the name, velop. and even broke down crying. The message Salerno hopes students Yet, Gilliland and Rapaport refused to will get from the book is this:“No matter give out the title. what barriers you have, you can overcome At one point, they wrapped copies of them.” Salerno thinks the book is a good the book in brown paper and marked choice because it introduces students to a them with the words “confidential” and genre they don’t normally read. “top secret,” and placed them at various The big reveal at Barnes & Noble places around the school. Teachers also
Donations to support the Rushe Middle School’s We Be Book’n book club can be made to Rushe Middle School, 18654 Mentmore Blvd., Land O’ Lakes, FL, 34638, in care of David Salerno, Kelli Rapaport, or Dawn Gilliland. Anyone with questions can call (813) 346-1200.
talked up the big reveal. Rapaport and Gilliland worked with the managers at Barnes & Noble to plan the event. Gilliland’s husband Jeff joined the teachers to developer the clues. “Every clue has to go with what’s in the book,” Rapaport said.“It’s really previewing the content for them ahead of time.” Jennifer Kosowski, whose daughter Brooke is a seventh-grader at Rushe, appreciates the efforts the school is making to encourage reading. “It’s fun,” she said.“It gets them in here and gets them interested in reading.” Brooke said she had fun figuring out the clues, noting some of them weren’t very easy. The Barnes & Noble event is just one of many activities the school has planned for the book club. Over the next few months, as they read the book, a number of special events will take place that center on the book’s themes. For instance, the school will have a mock Olympics because the book’s main character was an Olympian.The final event will be a lock-in at the school’s David Estabrook Collaboration Center, where students and staff members will spend the night playing games, watching movies, and having a chance to win prizes.
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December 3, 2014
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