Snow day challenge at Benner Elementary sparks students to read

When district administrators call for a snow day, one of the first things on the mind of Benner Elementary School Principal Kris Vancas is how to get students engaged in the learning process when they’re not actually in school. On Feb. 7, Vancas took to social media and posted a video of him asking students to have fun on the day off, but also to pick up a book and read. “Pick up anything,” he said in the video. “Read a book to yourself. Read a book to your cat or dog. Read a book to a family member. … Just spend some time reading today.” Students who came in the next day and approached Vancas about the books they read received a special bear paw ticket that went into an end-of-day drawing for prizes. Those student winners were Luke Hockenberry, Emma Kaliszewski and Grayson Zinobile. “They spend the majority of their time outside of school and we can use some of this time to encourage a love of reading by making it fun, which will hopefully promote reading habits that will last a lifetime,” Vancas said.