Three Saskatchewan schools will receive a Literacy Fund Grant from the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation, and W.J. Berezowsky School in Prince Albert is one of them.
The foundation announced on Wednesday that Berezowsky School would receive a $30,000 grant to purchase books and build a love of reading in students.
“Receiving the grant from the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation provides us with a wonderful opportunity to fill the shelves with culturally relevant books and to provide our students an opportunity to see individuals like themselves in the pages,” Berezowsky principal Dwayne Tournier said.
“It is terrific to get more graphic novels into our library and to be able to provide reluctant readers with books that are engaging and that provide visual cues to allow them to navigate the story more confidently. For many of our students, it’s not just about having a book that instills a love of reading, it’s about having the right book at the right time,” he added.
The Indigo Love of Reading Foundation empowers children through education. The foundation strongly believes that books have the impact to change a child’s life, leading to a lifelong pursuit of learning, but many elementary schools across Canada have limited library budgets. Their books are often outdated, with limited access to new and diverse books for their students.
In addition to these challenges, students across Canada were impacted by COVID-19 and shifts to virtual learning over the past year, which further limited access to books.
The Indigo Love of Reading Foundation worked closely with this year’s annual Literacy Fund Grant recipients to provide them with access to learning resources.
Tournier said the school was ecstatic to learn that they received the grant. The school began the application process during the 2020-2021 school year.
“It was a group effort, to complete the application, and many hours of work went into the submission,” Tournier said. “I would like to thank the staff for the time and dedication that was devoted to completing the application process.”
Tournier added that establishing a love of reading is an important aspect of every students’ education. He said it inspires them to learn and find their own passions in life, whether it is in art, science, music or any subject.
“They can explore their world through reading,” he explained. “For many students, reading provides the opportunity to see another world or share in an experience they may not have the opportunity to experience in reality.”
According to the foundation’s press release, Berezowsky relies on grants, community members, local businesses, and staff members to provide their students with reading material. The closest public library and bookstore in Prince Albert is over four kilometres away and students rely on the library at the school as a place to do research and find reading material.
With the help of the Literacy Fund Grant, the school will be able to purchase new high interest texts for guided reading instructions, as well as a proposed program to create home engagement literacy to improve parental and student reading engagement.
“We are honoured and thrilled to receive this grant and will definitely be putting the money to good use. We plan to use the funds to put books on our library shelves and to create home reading programs with more engaging books to make home reading an enjoyable experience for both students and families,” Tournier said.
“We want students to have the resources they need to become lifelong readers and lifelong learners.”
Other school receiving grants were Lester B. Pearson Elementary School in Saskatoon who received a $40,000 grant and St. Mary’s Wellness and Education Centre in Saskatoon who received a $50,000 grant.
