by: Sydney Carper

From March 1st to March 31st, 2017, OHS students are challenged to read at least 30 minutes a day and log their progress, along with a parent signature. On April 3rd participants will turn in their logs to their SET teachers. The SET class with the most completed and signed forms will be announced April 5th and they will win donuts. This is known as Read Across Oakdale.

The purpose of this challenge is to encourage reading and circulation of good books throughout the library, and to prevent winter doldrums. Schools needed to adapt to get kids to read for pleasure instead of just required reading, so activities such as this were created.

Every year, Read Across America and Read Across Maryland do something similar for individual winners. Schools will send the log of the students who read the most during the allotted time to the state, and the overall winner receives a prize such as an Ipad. However, Maryland wasn’t able to participate this year.

Media Specialist Renate Owen wanted to continue the challenge anyway, since Oakdale has participated every March for the past three years. This is the first year it is done by SET classes and awarding donuts.

In any case, Owen described Read Across Oakdale as “super easy” as any reading counts, whether it be required books from class, textbooks, articles, or a fun novel chosen for enjoyment.

All things considered, Owen wants Read Across Oakdale to make students become more aware of just how much they read. She wants this to encourage reading for pleasure and knowledge because, “Even if you give 30 minutes a day you’re still getting new thoughts and ideas”.

Despite the simplicity of it, Read Across Oakdale doesn’t get as many participants as the school would like. The typical participants tend to be the active readers who come to the library during lunch and between classes,to ask questions and participate in discussions about books. This year, they have begun to pull in others to participate who might not have done so on their own.
Read Across Oakdale is an uncomplicated and enjoyable way to encourage high school students to start reading, so students may want to consider participating in upcoming years!