Warwick Library lights torch to summer reading Olympics

Kelcy Dolan
Posted 6/23/16

The Summer Olympics may be taking place in Rio, but the Library Olympics will be right here in Warwick.

To kick off their Summer Reading Challenge the Warwick Public Library will host its very …

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Warwick Library lights torch to summer reading Olympics

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The Summer Olympics may be taking place in Rio, but the Library Olympics will be right here in Warwick.

To kick off their Summer Reading Challenge the Warwick Public Library will host its very own Library Olympics on June 25 for the whole family, complete with a torch relay, mini hurdles, javelin, discus, balance beam, water balloon shot-put and more sports carnival games.

Ellen O’Brien, coordinator of Children’s Services, and Wil Gregersen, community services librarian, have been making the rounds to participating Warwick elementary schools to encourage students to sign up for the challenge. On June 14 they visited John Wickes Elementary; they staged a few games at the school to get students excited for the challenge.

For the Summer Reading Challenge at the Warwick Public Library, participating youth earn points for different reading activities such as attending a library event, reading for 20 minutes or more or reading to a parent or sibling. The children can earn different prizes for every 10 points they earn. To complete the challenge children must earn 50 points; they will win a book, a certificate and a raffle for a special prize pack. Readers 6 to 9 years old who fill out a separate form after completing the challenge will be entered to win tickets to a Pawtucket Red Sox game on August 23. There, winning readers from across the state will be eligible to win a trip to Disney World.

This year, the Summer Reading Challenge, designed by the national Collaborative Summer Library Program, took inspiration from the Summer Olympics and its theme is, “On your mark, get set…Read!” This year focuses on competition, sports, health and fitness.

Over the last several years the Warwick Public Library has opened the Summer Reading Challenge to parents as well to make the challenge a family affair, to see parents and children reading together. More children are also likely to participate in the challenge if their parents or older siblings agree to do it with them.

“We want to encourage children to read. Reading during the summer helps students to keep the skills they learned throughout the year,” O’Brien said. “Students need reading for everything they do in school, and strong readers benefit in all aspects of life.”

Wickes Principal Roy Costa agreed, saying it is important students “keep up with their skills” throughout the summer to be prepared for the next school year. He noted it is also good for students to get into the habit of reading for enjoyment.

“We also like to support the library and the different programs they put on. We want our students involved in the community, to know what resources are available to them, and they do a good job over there,” Costa said.

Wickes often has many students participate in the library’s Summer Reading Challenge, but he would like to see more get involved, so he was happy to have O’Brien and Gregersen visit the school to speak with the students.

“We have been going around to the schools the last couple weeks. It’s an intense schedule, but schools welcome us with open arms and the kids really get excited to join the challenge,” O’Brien said.

In the spirit of competition, after explaining the Summer Reading Challenge, O’Brien and Gregersen put on three games for the students to play against one another for small medals: Stack Attack, Bead Breath and Scoop It Up. In these games students had to move cups, beads and ping pong balls from place to place.

The Office of Library and Information Services supports the Summer Reading Challenge for public libraries across the state and the Friends of Warwick Public Library supports the initiative by helping pay for prizes and programs throughout the summer. The library also has several community partners including, but not limited to, Papa’s ice cream, which will provide free ice cream cones to winners, as well as Warwick Mall, which donated carousel coins for prizes.

The Summer Reading Challenge is open to the entire family and kickoff on Sunday, June 25 at the Warwick Public Library with the Library Olympics. The Olympics will take place on the front lawn of the library, 600 Sandy Lane, beginning at 10 a.m. and running until 12 p.m. All ages are welcome to participate.

For more information on the challenge or other youth events at the library throughout the summer visit www.warwicklibrary.org.

ON YOUR MARK: Ellen O’Brien (left) and Wil Gregersen, serving as the silent assistant “Hanz,” have been visiting participating elementary schools throughout the city to encourage children to join the Warwick Public Library’s Summer Reading Challenge. (Warwick Beacon photos)

GET SET: Second grader Aiden Walters and third grader Ayla Paley were the first students to participate in the games hosted by the Warwick Public Library. They played “Stack Attack” to try and get a yellow cup back to the top of a pile of sticky cups one at a time.

READ!: In the game Scoop It Up, students had to use a spoon held in their mouths to move ping pong balls from one bowl to another. Here, Braydon Amaral (left) and Madison Sweeny, both 3rd graders, tried to move as quickly as possible to beat one another.

LIBRARY OLYMPICS: This year’s Summer Reading Challenge is inspired by the Summer Olympics and is focusing on sports and competition. Kadijah Nije, a 5th grader, participated in the library’s “Bead Breath” game, where she had to move beads from place to place by sucking on a straw.

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