Pioneer Elementary goes Wonka for One School One Book

Josh Flynn, Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, Ind.
·4 min read

Mar. 1—Pioneer Elementary kicked off their One School One Book event Thursday morning with a Willy Wonka themed assembly.

{span}Violet Beauregarde was there. So was Mike Teevee. Oompa Loompas appeared and Principal Pat Quillen portrayed the magical manufacturer of chocolate, Willy Wonka.{/span}

including teachers dressed as the book's characters and Principal Pat Quillen as Wonka.

Each student in the elementary school received a copy of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." The books were made possible by private donations.

The school will read the book together over the course of the next three weeks. There will be daily activities to get the students excited about reading, quizzes and prizes that include golden tickets to spend at the upcoming book fair and the entire event will culminate in a trip to MaryMax Cinemas for a showing of the 1971 film "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory."

Alesia Brown, a third grade teacher at Pioneer Elementary, had previously participated in One School One Book at a different school. She knew she wanted to bring it to the Pioneer community when she began teaching.

She said choosing "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" was an easy choice due to the fun story elements and opportunities to bring the book to life within the school.

As the students filed into the gym, their eyes widened at the sight of the decorations. Their voices grew boisterous as Iron Horse Broadcasting's Allan James introduced the teachers who dressed as characters and some stood on their feet to watch Principal Quillen as he walked into the gym, giving high fives to the students in a top hat and purple coat.

Quillen read the first chapter of the book to the assembled students.

Brown said one challenge families face when it comes to reading is that everyone is so busy these days.

"I think a lot of it is time," she said. "Our kids are busy. Our parents are busy and we know that. Getting that connection between home and school and helping build that love of literacy, sometimes it's just hindered by daily life. So, we wanted to make this fun."

Erica Martindale, a sixth-grade teacher dressed as Veruca Salt, hoped that the excitement the teachers had about One School One Book would generate excitement amongst the children.

Clues about the event had been hidden around the school, she said, which had the students asking questions.

Martindale said it could be difficult getting the students excited about books because of their interest in technology.

"We struggle to get them to actually want to read print and stay with it," she said.

Students reading abilities has been a hot topic in the Indiana legislature with Senate Bill 1 looking to hold children back from advancing to the fourth grade if they can't pass the IREAD test.

Brown was not in favor of the bill.

"There are studies that show that retention—most of the time—is not beneficial for a student," she said. "There are very few cases where retention actually helps a student. And schools don't take that decision lightly. Having legislators make those decisions for us and for our students when they are not in our building is really frustrating on our end as teachers. We see the work that our kids put in every day. We see the work our teachers put in every day. We are expecting a lot out of our kids. Putting fear into them when a lot of our students already have test anxiety is not helping."

But Thursday morning there were no worries among the students. They were excited about reading.

Even superintendent Charles Grable was caught up in the excitement.

"I knew they were planning something special but this is something else," he said after the program ended.

He said he couldn't be prouder of the staff and their efforts preparing the event for the students.

"We want to bring the love of learning, the passion of books back to kids," said Principal Quillen. "Especially in a day of technology."

Quillen said it was important for educators to remember their own passion for learning and share it with children.

"A lot of times in education as a business we forget that," he said. "We have to become human and be with our kids, let our hair down so to speak and show that we love learning just as much as they do."

As the students headed back to their classrooms, Brown said she was thankful for all of the donors who supported One School One Book.

"This wasn't something our school could do on its own," she said. "Getting the community support financially was huge."