A6 Belvoir Eagle June 9, 2016
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June 9, 2016 Belvoir Eagle A7
Photos by Paul Lara
Nilya Carrato, Fort Belvoir Supervisory Librarian, leads children on a book walk at the kick-off to Summer Reading 2016 at Tompkins Basin, Saturday. Photos by Rick Musselman
Fort Belvoir children leave the starting gate of the 2nd annual Child, Youth and School Services Color Run, Saturday in the Tompkins Basin area of the installation near Outdoor Recreation.
Family field day starts summer reading program By Amanda Stewart Staff writer
Belvoir children work their way through the tire obstacle during the 2nd annual CYSS Color Run, Saturday in the Tompkins Basin area near Outdoor Recreation.
2016 CYSS Color Run
Hundreds of children from across the community got a chance to kick off the summer reading program in a colorful way when Fort Belvoir’s Child, Youth and School Services hosted the 2nd annual Rockin’ and Rollin’ Color Fun Run, Saturday at Outdoor Recreation in the Tompkins Basin area. See full story, Page B1
Madison O’Bryan, 6, poses for a photo after completing the 2nd annual CYSS Color Run, Saturday in the Tompkins Basin area near Outdoor Recreation.
By running, screaming, reading and playing, Fort Belvoir families, with Fort Belvoir MWR, Van Noy Library, Outdoor Recreation and Child Youth and School Services officially kicked off the Summer Reading Program Saturday at a Family Field Day at Castle Park. The day of family fun began with a kids’ Color Run and continued with field day activities throughout the morning and afternoon. Nilya Carrato, supervisory librarian at Van Noy Library, was the “camp counselor” for the day, leading children in various fieldday activities, while librarian Katie Buxbaum helped children sign up for the reading program, this year themed “Read for the Win.” “Everything seems to be going great,” said Carrato, during a break between events. “We definitely were swamped with people in the beginning … everyone seems excited.” Rachel Barman brought her sons, Alex, 5, and Nathan, 9, to sign up for the summer reading program and enjoy the day’s events. Barman said she is eager for her sons to participate in the summer reading program. “This is our first summer here, so this is our first time and we’re excited for it,” Barman said. “I’m hoping it will help my sons want to read. My oldest son is not that interested in reading.” Field day events held throughout the day included things like obstacle courses, three-legged races and the very popular “50-yard scream.” In “Book Balance for Distance” children competed to see how far they could walk balancing a book on their heads. “Book choice is probably important for this one,” Carrato advised. “Picture books might be a good choice.” Sarah Sloughfy, 9, made it all the way to the end of the path balancing her book. But she’s had some practice. “I’ve done it before, in Girl Scouts,” she said.
Micaela Oliver, 8, gets some glitter art at the kick-off to Summer Reading 2016 June 4 at Fort Belvoir Tompkins Basin Park. Sarah said she’s participated in the summer reading program before and is excited to do so again this year. “It’s really fun and I read a lot so it’s pretty easy,” said Sarah, whose genre of choice is biographies. “And they have a lot of activities all summer long.” The summer reading program runs through early August. Participants keep a log of their summer reading and win prizes by meeting goals for the number of minutes read, for younger readers, or for reading a variety of books, for older readers. Activities for teens, school-aged children and preschoolers will be held at the library and other locations on the installation throughout the summer. Visit the Fort Belvoir MWR website or Facebook page, or visit Van Noy Library, for details as they are announced. The program ends with a closing party and bike rodeo at Specker Field House, Aug. 6. For more information, call 703-806-3323, visit Van Noy Library at 5966 12th St., Bldg. 1024, or visit the Belvoir MWR website, belvoir.armymwr.com.