It’s taken a year, but Chadron Middle School is finally holding its 3-day One Book, One School program on the book “Snow Treasure.”
It was originally scheduled for last December, but the winter storms that twice shut down Chadron for 3 days forced canceling One Book, One School to make up some of the regular coursework affected by the lost days.
Chadron Middle School Principal Nick Dressel says this week’s One Book, One School essentially goes ahead with last year’s plan for teachers or guest readers from the community to read the same book in its entirety over 3 days to all students
Dressel says studies have shown that reading to children helps them listen better and longer, build bigger vocabularies, understand concepts better, and feel positive about both books and reading.
Dressel says when an entire school reads the same book, the buzz and excitement strengthen those benefits with the added joy of building and expanding a sense of community among students, parents, teachers, and community members.
From talking to students and overhearing chatter in the halls and elsewhere, he thinks the students are excited to finally start One Book, One School.
“Snow Treasure” by Marie McSwigan is described as a fictionalized account of how a group of Norwegian children helped smuggle $9-million dollars of gold from their country’s treasury after the Nazis invaded Norway in WWII.