As Grapevine Elementary School (GES) students arrived at school on Monday, October 24, they couldn’t help, but “ooooh” as they marveled at the brand new vending machine in their school’s foyer. Illuminated from within, the unit did not contain sugary snacks, but rather children's books.
“Do we have to buy the books?” one student excitedly asked Principal Nancy Hale.
“You don’t have to spend money; you can earn a special coin by reaching your reading goal,” she responded.
The book vending machine, called Inchy’s Bookworm, was a donation from the school’s PTA. All books in the machine were selected by the librarian from the district’s approved library list.
“We just really want to help students work on their reading goals,” said Grapevine Elementary School PTA President Lyndsey Hall. “Our theme for the year is G.A.M.E.S., which stands for Goals and Motivation Equals Success, and so we really wanted students to have a tangible thing that they can work toward their literacy goals.”
She added that the school’s theme for last year, which was “Reading Takes You Places,” combined with this year’s theme, was a way for the PTA to support GES students in their literacy.
One student from each grade level, who had met their reading goals for the first nine weeks of school, was selected to be the first to obtain a book from the vending machine using a gold-colored coin, which had Inchy the Bookworm on one side and a inscription that states, “I Love Books,” on the other side. The official celebration, attended by GCISD Superintendent Dr. Robin Ryan, was streamed live to classes during the school’s morning announcements.
Each student had a personal reading goal, which they shared with the rest of the school during the ceremony.
First grader Everly Schalekamp, who had her sights on one of the dog books, left students with some words of wisdom – to never give up, adding that is how she met her goal and became a strong reader.
Principal Hale closed the livestream celebration by sharing that there were many other students who had met their reading goals and that they, too, could select a book from the new vending machine when their grade level is called down later this week.
