With your help we have been able to double the number of students we sponsor this year! We are now bringing books and authors to four classrooms at Gateway Middle School, two classrooms at Washington Montessori and two classrooms at Patrick Henry Elementary. That’s over 200 students who receive new books every two months for the entire school year.
In addition, our students had some very exciting author visits during the 2011-2012 school year.
• Last Fall, students in Ms. Hendley's kindergarten and Ms. Smith's first and second grade classes at Washington Montessori met author Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw and received a copy of her book Same, Same, But Different.
• Our new sixth grade classes at Gateway Middle School were lucky enough to meet bestselling author Gordon Korman. Mr. Korman is the author of the tremendously popular 39 Clues series and has also written many historical novels for middle readers, including the Titanic, Everest, and Island trilogies. Mr. Cashman and Ms. Silver's four classes of sixth graders received their own copies of the newest 39 Clues book, The Medusa Plot: Cahills vs. Vespers.
In February, the students enjoyed the entertaining Adam Rex and received a copy of his new book, Cold Cereal. Mr. Rex read passages from his story about Erno, Emily and Scott, and their adventures with a cast of characters that include a rabbit-man, uni-cat and Mick, a feisty leprechaun in a red tracksuit.
• At Patrick Henry Elementary last fall, Ms. Dixon's fifth graders and Ms. Evans' fourth graders were excited to meet John Flanagan, bestselling author of the Ranger's Apprentice series. Each student received a copy of Mr. Flanagan's The Outcasts, the first book in his new series The Brotherband Chronicles.
This year, local award-winning author Patricia McKissack visited Patrick Henry. The children were entranced by her storytelling. She told story upon story as she told them how she got her ideas for her books. Students received signed copies of Never Forgotten.
The success of the program can be summed up in this letter from 4th grade teacher, Ms. Evans, . “I wanted to make sure Left Bank Foundation understands the importance of the role they play in helping teachers to produce proficient readers. Consistent reading has helped with their comprehension, inference skills, compare and contrast skills, as well as just the enjoyment of escaping into a good book.
The excitement you generate when you walk into our room with “fresh reads” is indescribable.”
Become a Sponsor!
We need your help to reach our goal of sponsoring as many children in the St. Louis Public School System as possible! Sponsoring a student is tax-deductible and only costs $20 every other month ($100 per school year). We accept sponsorships from both individuals and businesses. To become a sponsor, CLICK HERE, fill out the form and return it to the address below. Or talk to our River City Readers program coordinator, Sarah Pritchard, by calling (314) 367-6731x2.
Mail Your Sponsorship Forms To:
Click here to download a sponsorship form, then send it to:
Left Bank Books Foundation, Attn: Sarah Pritchard,
399 N. Euclid Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63108.
Find Out More About the Classrooms:
Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we are sponsoring four classrooms for the 2010 - 2011 school year! At Washington Montessori in the Central West End we sponsor a Kindergarten classroom and First/Second Grade classroom. At Patrick Henry Downtown Academy we sponsor a fourth grade classroom and a fifth grade classroom.
Click on the links below to find out more about each classroom!
