Scholastic Book Fair

Yes! The Scholastic Book Fair really is a family event that everyone enjoys

 

 

The Scholastic Book Fair was organized and run by the school’s librarian, Mrs. Radawetz

 

Every November, usually during the week of parent-teacher interviews, IHMS holds its annual Scholastic Book Fair. This year was no different, and although the Book Fair ran a bit longer this year (it actually started the previous week), it once again ran during the week of parent-teacher interviews. This an ideal time to hold the book fair because most parents are already in the school at some point during the week to visit with their child’s teacher. The theme for this year’s book fair was “Where Books are the Treasure“.

 

The Book Fair on Tuesday after school as seen from the top of the stairs

 

Most students look forward to the Scholastic Book Fair. Of course, books aren’t difficult to find because there are plenty of stores in Winnipeg and sites on the internet (such as amazon.ca and chapters.indigo.ca) where students can purchase an even greater selection of books and accessories. But most K-8 students don’t order books off the internet, and the Scholastic Book Fair makes the process easy and convenient because they bring the books to us. Now that’s a brilliant marketing strategy!

 

 

In addition to making it convenient for students to acquire cool books, the Scholastic Book Fair is also a school fundraiser. It’s a fundraiser because a percentage of the profits are used to buy Scholastic books for the library and for each of the individual classrooms. In each of the last few years, the book fair has raised approximately $2500 a year for the school.

 

Grade 1 students paying for their purchases at the book fair

 

Out of this money, each teacher is allocated approximately $100 towards the purchase of books for their classroom, while the rest is used to purchase new Scholastic books for the library. So in addition to being a fun event, everybody benefits from the book fair.

 

Grade 8 student Dominic J. always loves the Scholastic Book Fair. To see how excited he’s been for the previous 3  years, click here.

 

The book fair was set up in the front foyer of the school on Tuesday, November 22 and ran for a week until Wednesday, November 30. The hours for the Book Fair were the same each day – from 1:00 – 4:30 p.m. When the book fair was open after school, students had to have a parent with them to purchase books. During school hours, students had to have their teacher with them during classroom designated purchase time.

 

Grade 4 girls at the book fair

 

A few days before the book fair, every student was given a Preview flyer showing a few of the books that would be available for sale. In addition to these “sneak peeks”, the flyer also contained a ballot that could be filled out and entered for a prize draw of $50 worth of free books – $25 for the winning student and $25 for that student’s class. There were also smaller draws in every grade for a coupon worth $6 off the price of any book or accessory.

 

Students looking through the displays after school on Wednesday, Nov. 23.

 

In order to give everyone an opportunity to view the displays, a schedule was set up for each grade to do some browsing. Each class’s first visit was for viewing only, while purchases were accepted during the class’s second visit. Of course students were free to browse as they walked through the book fair on the way to the gym at lunch time, and students were free to make purchases after 3:00 if their parents accompanied them.

 

Some of the grade 2’s and grade 7’s looking over the books

 

Since the book fair was organized with the needs of K-8 students in mind, there were a wide range of reading levels available, ranging from pre-school to teenager. There were also a lot of accessories for sale, such as colourful pens and pencils, erasers, and markers. In addition, there was a small selection of gift ideas for the students to purchase.

 

Some of the different topics available at the Scholastic Book Fair

 

The book fair was organized by Mrs. Radawetz, the school’s librarian. In addition, a number of parent volunteers helped out behind the counter.

 

Mr. Radawetz (top photos) and a few of the parent volunteers who took time out of their busy lives to help out at the Scholastic Book Fair (bottom two photos)

 

The Scholastic Book Fair is a major school event that requires a lot of planning and preparation. Thank you to Mrs. Radawetz, the parent volunteers, and everyone else who played a part in making the Scholastic Book Fair such a great success.