Rotary’s 10th annual Ashland Reads fairly bursts with enthusiasm
By Julia Sommer for Ashland.news
The Rotary Club of Ashland and Rotary Club of Ashland Lithia Springs held their 10th annual Ashland Reads celebration of literacy May 7 for all first-grade students in the Ashland School District.
Excited students arrived by foot (from Walker, TRAILS, Willow Wind) and bus (from Bellview, Helman) at Ashland High School. Rotarians in storybook costumes and the AHS drumline greeted them.
Earlier this school year, five picture books were selected for Ashland Reads: “My Name Is a Story,” “Night Owl,” “The Day the Crayons Quit,” “Something’s Wrong” and “This Land.”
A surprise gift
Over the winter, teachers read all five to their students. Then they asked each student to pick their favorite book. What the children didn’t know was that they would each be receiving that favorite book at the event in a specially designed book bag, along with other surprises.
Mountain Avenue Theatre was full of bubbling first-grade energy for Ashland Reads. Students enjoyed a celebration of books with music by Tish McFadden of the Rum Tum School of Music.
McFadden wrote a special song, “Inside a Book,” for the event. She taught students the song in visits to every first-grade classroom this year. The children sang her song with gusto, along with the ABC song and “Old McDonald,” replacing “had a farm” with “had a book.”
Dance time
Local author Bobbie Peyton read her book projected on a large screen. Her book, “Dancing the Tinikling,” won the 2023 Oregon Spirit Award. It describes the national dance of the Philippines, Peyton’s birthplace. Students were invited onstage to learn the dance.
Following the program, everyone was treated to an outdoor lunch. Two Ashland firefighters grilled hot dogs on-site.
Finally, book bags provided by Friends of the Ashland Public Library were given to all students. The bags contained their favorite books inside, personalized just for them, as well as special gifts donated by community partners.
Treehouse Books gave a generous discount to purchase the books.
Second- and third-grade students in the district will receive summer reading books as a part of Ashland Reads. More than 1,300 books will be distributed to students before the school year ends.
A local nonprofit composter, school staff, students and Rotarians all joined in to reduce plastic waste and compost food scraps. Almost nothing from the celebratory lunch ended up in the garbage.
Email freelance writer Julia Sommer of Ashland at juliamsommer@gmail.com.
