SJHS’s Quest to Read

Students all over Springville Junior High School have been getting used to Quest Time enrichment activities.  Enrichment activities are students reward for having grades above a C-. Some of the most popular activities so far have been things like movies, board games, the pool table in the counselor’s room, and magic classes.  What most students haven’t heard of is the book group, a new activity that started just four weeks ago at Springville Junior.

Every Monday during Quest Time, (20 minutes in between third and fourth period) whichever students want to can meet at Ms. Tiffanie Miley’s classroom (room 57) to discuss books.  Whichever students show up get to vote on a favorite book and decide how many pages to read.  The next Monday, they discuss the pages and decide what to read for the next week.  Lyndsay Wheeler, a regular attendee of book group, said, “My favorite part of book group is getting to hear other people’s opinions about the book.”    

Students do not need to go to book group every week if they don’t want to.  Any student can come, any time they want to. Celeborn Stringham, another member of book group, said, “It is a good opportunity for those who like to read to keep reading and for those who don’t like to read to start.”

The book group first read Suzanne Collins’ “Mockingjay,” the final book in “The Hunger Games” series.  They are now reading Markus Zusack’s “The Book Thief,” which is about growing up in Nazi Germany.  Their next meeting will be on Monday, November 1st during Quest time, and they will be discussing the first half of The Book Thief.  All SJHS students with grades C- and above can come to Ms. Miley’s room to attend. Students should come because according to Ms. Miley, “Being able to articulate your thoughts and opinions is an important skill, and I believe book group can help students become more effective at expressing themselves.”