To kick off Levittown Public Schools' annual Summer Reading Extravaganza, students in grades 6-8 at both Jonas E. Salk Middle School and Wisdom Lane Middle School gathered for an engaging literacy launch assembly to introduce the middle school's new summer reading book, "Because of Mr. Terupt" by Rob Buyea. Wisdom Lane held their assembly on May 31, while Jonas E. Salk followed on June 1.
Students packed the auditoriums where administrators and staff members dressed as characters from the book. To get the students excited about the storyline, each faculty member walked up to the microphone with their unique costumes and told the students about who their character is. This raised questions in the students' minds about the mystery surrounding the storyline and what happened to Mr. Terupt in the book.
English Language Arts Director Kerin Slattery also discussed what the Summer Reading Extravaganza entails and why the district participates. Since the Levittown Public Library plays an important role in the program, Slattery introduced librarians from the public library who spoke about summer events held at the library that coincide with the book. The middle school students also learned that they can engage with their peers and submit projects relating to the book throughout the summer on a webpage that can be accessed through the district website, levittownschools.com. If students utilize the website and attend the library events during the summer, they will receive prizes and raffle tickets for the opportunity to meet the author in the fall when Buyea visits the school.
At the conclusion of the event, the students had the opportunity to ask questions about the program and each received their own copy of "Because of Mr. Terupt" to read during the summer, courtesy of the district.
