The brothers of Psi Alpha Alpha Chapter, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., completed its fifth year of the “Reading for Success” program at Riverside Elementary School in Alexandria, Virginia, with great enthusiasm.
The brothers, affectionately known as “The Sirs,” supported six third-grade classes with a total of 125 students. The program consisted of a Kickoff; a Bernie L. Bates Foundation, Inc., Royal Purple and Old Gold Backpacks with 27 age appropriate books for an individual library; and Four Quarterly Read Aloud sessions that were welcomed by the Principal, Reading Program Coordinator, the Third-Grade Teachers, and an excited group of Third-Grade Students.
The four one–hour reading sessions were held on November 12, 2018, January 16, 2019, March 13, 2019, and June 5, 2019. The following books were chosen for the read aloud: “The Last Minute” by Sasha Griffin. The book tells the story of a girl name Katy who put off completing a homework assignment until, you guessed it, the last minute. This book was well received by the students as they could relate while at the same time learning a life-lesson on procrastination.
Next we chose “Buddy Ran Away” by Thea Feldman. The book tells the story of a pet beagle named Buddy who ran away while the family was on a vacation in the mountains. Buddy saw a rabbit, ran away, and was not able to return with the family. After a few weeks, Buddy relying on his instincts, safely returned home to his loving family.
Then we read “Joanie’s House Becomes a Home,” by Donna Latham. The book tells the story of a young girl whose family moves from San Francisco, California to Boston, Massachusetts. The book is told from Joanie’s point of view and explains what makes a house a home.
Finally, we read “What a Day” by Rena Korb. The book tells the story of a young girl who volunteered at an animal shelter during a winter blizzard and how she helped calm the shelter dogs and rescued a lost dog.
“The Sirs” are proud of the fact that we have donated 3,750 age appropriate books” during the school year. We will continue to do our part to inspire these young readers, and we look forward to our sixth year of partnering with Riverside Elementary School.