Lois E. Hole students have been getting free books from a vending machine this term in exchange for impressive acts that improve their community.
Lois E. Hole Elementary staff brought in the school’s first vending machine at the start of this school year. Instead of chips and snacks, they’ve stocked the vendor with popular picture books and novels and made them free to any student who earns a coveted Golden Hornet Award.
Staff wanted a new way to get students excited about reading and good citizenship, said assistant principal Tammy Schepens.
“Our kids need to be better than we are,” she said, and need to come up with new ways to improve the world.
The Golden Hornet Award recognizes students who carry out social justice projects that improve their school community and demonstrate entrepreneurship. Winners receive golden tokens they can put into the vending machine to receive the book of their choice. Schepens said the school has a key to open the machine’s front should a book ever get stuck mid-delivery.
Four students have received the award thus far, Schepens said. Winners have promoted fundraising efforts for an outdoor classroom; made and sold bracelets for Movember (a charity that seeks to prevent premature deaths in men); and presented a talk to the school about the Métis for Métis Week.
Schepens said the award (named after the school’s mascot, which is a hornet) aims to make readers and reading cool and is a way to recognize exceptional students.
“It’s an investment in inspiring readers.”
Questions on the program should go to school staff at 780-460-0034.
