Olympia High School recently held its “Literacy Week”. There were games, tea, food, candy, and most importantly, books on top of books. Ms. Joy Harrington, our Media Center Specialist, known as “Ms. Joy”, emphasized that everything comes from literacy and the week was dedicated to encouraging students to read. Let’s see how it went!
To start the week off, Olympia began with “Match the Book to the Teacher” day. On the library windows, there were pictures of multiple teachers alongside books, and students would come up to try and guess their teacher’s favorite book. Some of the participating teachers included Ms. Olafsson, Ms. Cannizzaro, and Ms. Cabrera. The books featured in the game included The Hunger Games, The Catcher in the Rye, and, last but not least, Six of Crows.
Then, Tuesday was “The Mad Hatter Tea Party,” a fun gathering where students could participate in the activity lift-a-line book swap. Students were given a prompt and would have to find a matching line within a book they chose. A prompt could be “Something to never say on a first date” or “What’s a line that could bring hope,” and the students would search through their books for a fitting sentence. Attending the event also came with bookmarks to remind students to log their reading minutes in Beanstack. It was “sort of a mini launch for the OCPS Reading Challenge,” Ms. Joy said. This challenge offers a monetary reward of cash or gift cards worth up to $5,000.
Not to be outdone by the tea party, “All Things Books Jeopardy” was a fun Kahoot game played during the lunch period. Students who participated enjoyed lollipops and laughs while guessing the plots of different books. It was a competition between friends and strangers to see who knew their books best. Questions could include,“Who is the author of Mockingjay?” or “What is Moby-Dick about?” with students selecting from four possible answers on the screen.
The final event of Literacy Week tied into Valentine’s Day: “Blind Date with a Book. This activity gave readers a chance to pick up a new book, using only its first sentence as a first impression. It encouraged students to explore different genres and read something they might not typically choose. A couple of first lines included, “ ‘Take care of yourself,’ his mother said as he got into the taxi.” and “It was Monday morning during my senior year of high school.” This event ran from January 31 to February 14 in celebration of Valentine’s Day, and students were able to go on a blind date with a random book!
All in all, Literacy Week was a fun-filled event where teachers and students alike engaged in reading and games. Teachers had the chance to share their love of books with students, and Ms. Joy got to share her outstanding love and knowledge for literacy with students across campus. It was a week for Olympia’s Titans to explore the world of books– and have fun while doing so.
