Starfish Assignment Licking County held their first-ever Books & Badges events this week. We're so proud of their growth, and we're so happy to see this fun, educational program enjoyed by these Newark City Schools students. Here's their post from their Facebook page:
This week we kicked off our first Books & Badges readings at John Clem Elementary, Newark City Schools, and it was WONDERFUL!
Our Books & Badges program is our literacy campaign. We introduce an officer in to an elementary school classroom to read aloud to the children. Each child in attendance receives a copy of the book, signed by the officer who reads. After the reading, the kids have time to ask the officer questions, and the officers are so happy to interact with the children! It’s such a positive experience for everyone.
One child asked Officer Craft, “How can I become a police officer?” Craft replied, “Listen to your teachers, do your school work, listen to your parents, stay out of trouble, and get really good grades! You can do it!”
“What do you do if someone does something bad two times?” Craft replied, “We try to help them!”
It was so entirely fun listening to the children ask the officers questions, all hands were in the air! They asked about the K9 Officers, and ask why they wanted to be police officers. They would ask about their belts, and the equipment they carried. They asked about the best and worst part of their days, and their experiences as police officers. The children would tell us about their dogs at home, and about the times they’ve seen police cars. A lot of the children told us that they had family members who were police officers as well! The officers were so wonderful to answer their questions, and interact with the books. We think the kids learned a thing or two about why animals hibernate, and colonies (of animals), and for some reason arctic fox’s seemed to be a hot topic! 😁
We later got word that the children all wrote the officers thank you notes (pictured), and adorable drawings. You can really see the impact this had, and we think it’s just wonderful.
We would like to give a BIG shoutout to our Books & Badges coordinator for Newark City Schools, Daniel Logan! Not only did Daniel schedule one reading, he was able to coordinate FIVE readings this week. He is fantastic at what he does in the schools, and the children just adore him! He took our program, and ran with it. We can’t thank him enough for his love of this program, and our community.
We would also like to thank the Newark Division of Police officers who came out to read to the children this week: Officer Carles, Sgt. Bline, and Officer Craft. You created a lot of smiles, and you saved the day... as always!
We’ll be excited for more Books & Badges readings to come this year! We love this program! 💙
Books & Badges
