Earlier this month Stayton Intermediate/Middle School in Stayton, OR celebrated its achievement as the first place winner of the Scholastic Book Fairs Spring 2017 National Elementary School Contest. The school was awarded 2,000 Scholastic Dollars™ and an in-school visit from Kate Messner – author of the Ranger in Time series, Marty McGuire, and The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z.
As part of the contest entry, schools were encouraged to share ways they planned on engaging student and their families during the Spring “Happy Camper” Book Fair. Ideas included book themed activities, programs, contests, challenges, special events and advertising strategies.
Four months before the Book Fair, Stayton began to recruit volunteers, from PTO members to grandparents, and used social media, posters, and flyers to promote their Book Fair. Stayton generated even more excitement for the Fair by holding a Pre-Book Fair classroom reading contest where the winning classroom was rewarded with $150.00 Scholastic Dollars™ to spend at the Book Fair!
Stayton Intermediate/Middle School decorated their school as a campsite, preparing the whole school for their hike to the Stayton Book Fair. Book browsers were met with mountains, waterfalls, and rivers as they entered the library now transformed into one of Oregon’s many National Parks. Trees, raccoons, bears, and even Big Foot populated this man-made forest. Guests were greeted by small woodland creatures, like the student-designed hedgehogs made from old, recycled books. When the sun went down, the stars came out as stringed lights lit up the library for their evening events.
Hosting a Book Fair preview for their teachers, a family night, and a grand event made Stayton Intermediate/Middle School’s Book Fair an inclusive campsite for everyone in their community to shop for books. Even Stayton Oregon’s Police Department volunteered by helping serve lunch at the grand event.
Scholastic Book Fairs® is ecstatic to award Stayton the honor of first-place in the Spring 2017 National Elementary School Contest!
