Literacy Plus Co-chairs Marie Baudek and Anne Derby have been busy getting organized for this fall.  

When COVID caused an abrupt shut down of the schools last spring, the Reading Buddies program was not able to finish the year which included not being able to give out the final books to the students. Marie and Anne arranged to deliver the four books to Bethune in time to be handed out to last year’s reading buddies, now 3rd graders, at their Back to School event. The books distributed included: Moon, Ella and the Penguin Stick Together, The Best Pet of All, and Birds of Prey. Thanks to Marie and her husband, Matt, who packed the books in boxes and drove them to Bethune!  

This year there will not be a reading buddy program as volunteers are not allowed in the schools. Literacy Plus will be providing a subscription to a social studies weekly magazine for all of the current 2nd grade students. Each student will receive a weekly magazine as well as have access to additional content and activities online. The Literacy Plus team will continue to work closely with the 2nd grade teachers to identify how we can support them and their students during the year.  

Literacy Plus will also be distributing books to Pre-K and Kindergarten classes once classes have begun.  

Lastly, Anne and Marie have collected all the Literacy Plus materials from Bethune and have stored them at the warehouse to be ready when volunteers are allowed back in the school and we can once again read with our buddies. Thank you, Marie and Anne, for your leadership of Literacy Plus and support of the 2nd grade teachers and students at Bethune!

Marie and Matt Baudek