By Lisa Scott
Special to The PREVIEW
Families, teachers and the community are invited to attend the Scholastic Book Fair coming to Pagosa Springs Elementary School March 2-13. The event will be during school hours in the school library and the featured theme is Wish Upon a StarLab Book Fair.
The Stars of Fine Arts Family Night will be held March 11 from 5 to 7 p.m. The Partners In Education Committee (P.I.E.) will organize the activities for the evening and will also provide a delicious, nutritious and fun homemade dinner. Additionally, artwork created by students of all grades will be on display and many items will be available for bidding via silent auction.
The proceeds from this book fair will go toward the ongoing fundraiser to purchase a StarLab for the school district. The StarLab is a mobile planetarium with a 360-degree spherical projection to point out any object in the night sky. This interactive experience brings astronomy and STEM curriculum to the students of Pagosa Springs schools without leaving campus.
Teachers Anita Hinger, eighth-grade science, and Debbie Moore, first grade, have been working for over a year to raise the $49,000 necessary to purchase the StarLab. To date, they have raised 50 percent of the funds necessary through grants and private donations. The proceeds from this book fair will contribute to the fundraiser.
The Book Fair is an exciting time for students at the school, as it is a fun and gratifying way to increase interest in reading for pleasure. Additionally, there will be a classroom competition for decorating the classroom door with the StarLab theme and voting will take place during family night.
Students love showing their families the decorations and the book fair items they have their eye on. This event promotes reading as an essential activity to keep learning skills sharp and to engage the imagination.
Individuals attending the book fair can also help build individual classroom libraries by purchasing a book for a teacher through the Classroom Wish List Program that is highlighted within the book fair.
Students visit the book fair with their class to preview the books for sale, especially the new releases. There are a wide variety of books and price ranges available and there is always a huge supply of bargain items as low as $1.99. Students also view the “Author DVD,” supplied by Scholastic, which features authors discussing the books they wrote with kids in mind.
The elementary school has been hosting a book fair since 1982. The school hosts one book fair per semester and the proceeds are taken in the form of Scholastic dollars and books for the school library. Scholastic dollars enable the school to order a vast array of educational supplies at a considerable discount.
The book fair will offer specially priced books and educational products, including newly released titles, award-winning titles, children’s classics, beautiful hardback books, interactive software and book titles from more than 150 publishers. There are products for all age ranges and many excellent gift ideas.
The community is invited to attend the book fair as a shopper or volunteer during book fair hours as the event is hosted in the school library and staffed by volunteers. For more questions or to volunteer, contact Lisa Scott at 264-2730 or sranch@centurytel.net.