More than 150 parents and children excitedly marched through the doors of the majestic Turnbull Regional Library on St. Thomas for a one-of-a-kind event on Saturday, August 20--the first Back to School Night at the Library.
Dubbed "a celebration of literacy," the five-hour event was a joint effort between the Virgin Islands Department of Education and the Department of Planning and Natural Resources Division of Archives, Libraries and Museums. It brought together students in grades K-6 and their parents for an evening of storytelling, music, theater, arts-and-crafts and more! Parents attending the event expressed their pleasure in having the library opened during the evening hours and requested that the event be held at least once per month.
Dr. Lois Habtes, retired school principal and children's author, kicked off the event with music, singing and storytelling. She led students in a variety of local songs and games, while playing her guitar. A highlight of the evening came when students put on a small theatrical production for parents in the library's state-of-the art theater. Students in grades K-2 performed in the "Feelings Chorus," featuring handcrafted puppets made with paper plates. Then, there was the Reader's Theater, featuring students in grades 3-6 reading as various characters in a play. Students also enjoyed making a pencil box in a special Home Depot workshop, in addition to making their own crafts based on stories that were read to them.
There was lots for parents to do, too. They were treated to workshops on how to incorporate literacy into everyday activities at home and on digital citizenship. Parents also assisted their children with arts-and-crafts activities.
The evening ended with a bang as youngsters and their parents curled up to watch Smurfs 2 on the big screen in the library's theater. Following the event, students received a bag of goodies containing a book, courtesy of Scholastic Books, as well as folders chockfull of handouts promoting reading and writing.
Volunteers for Night at the Library included members of the local Eastern Stars, as well as Friends of the Library. Workshop and activity facilitators included Education Department's Jeune Provost, Jerae Forde, Kisha Corbett and Shamika Williams-Henley. Iman Maynard and Ann led the Reader's Theater and Feeling's Chorus, respectively.
A similar event will be held at St. Croix's Florence Williams Library on Saturday, August 27.
