Students receive books from Rotary

The last Friday of May holds special significance for Sisters Country first grade students. That's the day the Rotary Club of Sisters celebrates literacy with Books for Kids, an event in its sixth year that saw each student heading home last Friday with a hard-cover book and a host of other goodies, all lodged in a backpack.

Each student selected his or her book a few months ago, after classroom teachers read from a selection of six books chosen this year by Paige Bentley-Flannery, a Sisters librarian with the Deschutes Public Library. Each book contains a nameplate with the student's name printed on it.

This year the celebration was held in the Sisters High School auditorium and the space hummed with excitement as 86 well-behaved first graders took their seats. Several parents, community members and Rotarians were also present.

According to Sondra Anderson, who teaches a combined class of kindergartners and first graders at the Sisters Christian Academy, "The students have looked forward to this since last year, when they were in kindergarten."

The event is not unique to Sisters. It began as a way for Casper, Wyoming, resident John Jorgensen to honor his wife, Sue, who died in a car accident, leaving John to raise their five children. Sue was a first-grade teacher who loved books and children, and the Jorgensen family realized this was how Sue would want to be remembered. The entire state of Wyoming now observes Wyoming Reads, a day on which every first-grader in the state receives a book. In Oregon, the cities of Klamath Falls, Springfield, Lebanon, Madras and Sisters participate in this childhood literacy program, with help from local Rotary clubs.

Jorgensen attends each of the Oregon events.

This year, Sisters Rotary called in some helpers. The Interact Club at SHS provided actors to bring some reality to an interactive story that Jorgensen tells about a good queen, a bad Grinch, lots of books and a gang of first-graders who save the day. The real first-graders watched enthralled as the story unfolded on the stage.

Sisters Folk Festival Creative Director Brad Tisdel worked his musical magic with a song about reading that had the students and Tisdel's backers (a group of guest readers) singing and clapping.

The students then divided into seven groups and dispersed throughout the auditorium. The guest readers, Marlene McCormack-Lee (Forest Service), Kathy Deggendorfer (The Roundhouse Foundation and artist), Katy Yoder (Sisters Folk Festival), Stephanie Clymens (Sisters Christian Academy teacher), Jim Golden (Sisters School District superintendent), Heather Miller (Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire Department), and Mikaela Koellermeier (2015 Sisters Rodeo Queen), read from their favorite childhood books.

The best part of the day came when the backpacks were passed out. The students all waited until the signal was given, then opened their bags all together. Cries of delight echoed around the room as the children were reunited with books they'd chosen months before.

Jorgensen summed up the sentiments of the adults in the room when he said, "It never gets old seeing a seven-year-old pair of eyes look at their book."

The Rotary Club buys the books from Paulina Springs Books, which gives the club a discount. The club purchased T-shirts with the Books For Kids logo from Sisters Screen Printing. Other local businesses and organizations that contributed items include the U.S. Forest Service, Deschutes Public Library System, Ace Hardware, US Bank, Western Title and The Paper Place. The Sisters School District provided bussing for the students and the use of the high school auditorium.

It's not just the students who have a good time celebrating stories. For several Rotarians, this event is their favorite one of the year. Gayla Nelson, who headed the Books for Kids committee this year, stated that one of the reasons she joined Rotary was to support childhood literacy. Sending a first-grader home with a book is a great start.