A $1,500 donation from the Rotary Club of West Vancouver will allow a unique library program for special needs students to continue for another year.
Created in 2001, Special Needs Storytime begins on Jan. 23 this year and will bring 10 students to West Vancouver Memorial Library on Wednesday mornings for eight weeks. These learners have been identified by their West Vancouver School District teachers as having the potential to benefit from literacy programs outside the classroom.
"We have been able to build a small community for these teens that is different from their home or school environment," says program facilitator Mary Brown. "We incorporate social skills, literacy, fine motor skills, and achievement into each session."
Two sessions will be held this year - one that begins in January, and another that starts in October.
The upcoming session coincides with Family Literacy Day, launched in 1999 by ABC Life Literacy Canada to raise awareness of the importance of reading and engaging in other literacy-related activities as a family. To mark the day, West Vancouver Memorial Library will be offering family programs on Saturday, Jan. 26. For more information, visit westvanlibrary.ca, or call the library's youth department at 604-925-7408.
