This month, St. John of the Cross Parish School embarked on a special project, an all school book club, “One School, One Book.” Each family received a copy of the–The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies - to read at home over the month of February. The One School, One Book program comes to SJC from Read to Them® a 501 C (3) non-profit organization promoting family literacy. Whose mission is to create a culture of literacy in every home.
Read to Them educates families and schools on the benefits and importance of reading aloud at home. A growing body of research describes the complex and permanent effects of reading aloud. Children who are read to learn to read more easily and become better readers. Literacy skills provide the basis for a lifetime of learning and productivity.
Sue Michalowski, librarian, brought this program to SJC in 2014. “In our 4th year of One School One Book, we are more excited than ever to continue this tradition at SJC. Our students, families and teachers are truly a strong community of readers."
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Everyone - students, parents, and teachers - participates. In school, the children answered daily trivia questions to encourage and reward attentive listening. In conjunction with the book, students and teachers also participated in their own “Lemonade War.” Each grade level sponsored a lemonade stand during lunch periods to raise monies for The Chicago Collegiate Charter School’s library.
Fourth Grader, Kate Zimmer, enjoyed her special lemonade treat, but, even more she knew it was for a good cause. “We are raising money for a school that doesn’t have any books, so we are buying lemonade so they can buy their own books.” Teachers dressed up as lemonade sales men and lemonade fairies to entice students to buy the lemonade from them. Some teachers even distributed candy lollipops and homework passes
