Kyrene de las Lomas Eagles Flock Together for School-Wide Book Club

Posted August 2022

Kyrene de las Lomas students, families, staff, and teachers are participating in a new school-wide book club designed to build a community of readers. Funding for the One School, One Book program comes from Title I funds and allows students in every grade level to receive a take-home copy of the same book to enjoy with their families.

During a school-wide assembly on Monday, Kyrene de Las Lomas Principal Tika DeGraffenried announced that “The Lemonade War” by Jacqueline Davies would be the first book in the program.

“Reading is the key to success, and I want all of the Lomas Scholars to leave Lomas with a love of learning and reading,” said DeGraffenried. “There is so much to discover by just picking up a book, and if just one student finds a connection there are so many doors that can open for them.”

Throughout the program, families are asked to read out loud at home with their students for 15 minutes per day, Monday through Thursday. On Monday, students took home a copy of the book and a reading calendar, which shows which chapters should be read each night. Schedules can be hectic during the school year, so to help families stay on track with their reading, Lomas staff members will also be reading each chapter on YouTube for families to watch with their students.

“I am always looking for innovative ideas to build connections between home and school,” DeGraffenreid said. “I saw the Read to Them program on one of my principal blogs and thought it would be a great way to build unity in our school across all grade levels while building literacy skills for all.”

Each school day, students can share what they know and take pride in their reading comprehension by answering trivia questions about the book. The Kyrene de las Lomas community is participating in One School, One Book from August 16 until September 15.