At Darlington School, our libraries play an essential role in nurturing a lifelong love of reading, and this summer was no exception! Both the Pre-K to 8 and Upper School libraries hosted exciting reading initiatives, fostering a sense of community and engagement among our students and faculty while encouraging everyone to keep reading through the break.
The Upper School embraced the spirit of adventure with their summer reading challenge, Roaming Readers. Both students and faculty took part, reading books during their summer travels and sharing creative photos with the library’s Instagram page to show off the unique places they were reading. From sunny beaches to mountain peaks, our readers proved that a good book is the perfect travel companion.
As a special incentive, all participants were entered into a drawing for a Kindle, complete with a stylish purple case. The excitement and creativity surrounding the challenge made it a hit, and our Upper School students and faculty demonstrated that reading can truly happen anywhere.
Meanwhile, the Pre-K to 8 library hosted its own summer reading adventure with Camp Reads A Lot. For every 20 minutes read, students earned a campfire to color in, filling their summer reading logs with bright flames. The results were absolutely incredible!
• 97 students completed the Camp Reads A Lot challenge.
• A whopping 114,993 minutes were read in total.
• 22 dedicated readers logged over 1,500 minutes each!
These students built their reading “campfires” higher and higher, demonstrating their commitment to reading. The challenge not only encouraged students to keep up with their reading but also gave them the opportunity to feel proud of their accomplishments in a fun and interactive way.
This fall, pre-K to 8 students are taking on an exciting new reading challenge: Saving the Sinking Library! Classrooms and advisory classes will work together to collect mysterious artifacts that are weighing the library down and causing it to sink. For every hour read, students will move along a treasure map in search of these artifacts, racing to save the library from going under. It’s an imaginative and thrilling way to inspire students to read while working together toward a common goal!
As we head into the new school year, we’re so proud of our students' summer reading accomplishments. Whether they were posting snapshots of their travels or cozying up by their campfires, these readers have set the tone for another year of literary exploration and success. Our libraries remain a cornerstone of academic life at Darlington, providing a welcoming space for students to continue growing their love for books.
We can't wait to see what new reading adventures await in the coming months, and we invite all our students to stop by the library, check out new books, and dive into the stories that await!
Happy reading, Darlington!
