SMS Students participating in Reading Program

The media specialist at Seneca Middle School, Sydney Jones, has found a fun and rewarding way beyond the enrichment that reading brings by itself to encourage a record number of students to participate this school year in reading programs. Each year the South Carolina School Librarians’ Association nominates twenty titles to its Junior Book Award contest. Students have most of the school year to read any three of those twenty titles and submit an online response form for each title they read. Students who do so are then qualified to vote on their favorite title and participate in a fun field trip. This year 220 students read at least one title and a record 132 of those students qualified to vote and attend the field trip. In May, these students were treated to a variety of activities and games at Frankie’s Fun Park in Greenville followed by lunch at the South Carolina Botanical Gardens in Clemson. Jones said, “This program has been a popular one with our students for several years but really seemed to capture the interest of a wide variety of students this year. It is always gratifying to see our students enjoy reading but it has been especially gratifying to see so many middle school students, who are sometimes reluctant readers, clamor for the opportunity to participate in a reading program.”