Spring Branch ISD Featured News

Opening up a book is a nice way to escape from the summer heat while keeping young minds engaged with learning and vocabulary growth before the upcoming school year.  

This summer, students in Spring Branch ISD are logging their reading minutes online during the Summer Reading Challenge (now through August 13). The goal for the summer is for students to log 1,000 reading minutes, or at least 20 minutes per day. 

In the O’Meara family, students Julia (Kindergarten) and Joshua (6th grade) have already exceeded 1,000 minutes each by reading an hour a day on average. Julia likes to read a variety of books including the Mercy Watson and Magic Tree House series, as well as activity books. Besides enjoying the stories, the possibility of winning a Summer Reading Challenge prize is another motivating factor to read for Julia.

“The challenge has been fun,” parent Alice O’Meara, an avid reader herself, said. “It has helped her find books she had not discovered before.”

Joshua favors books by author Stuart Gibbs, including his Spy School and FunJungle series, which are written for middle school readers.

So far, hundreds of students in the district have registered for the challenge, and more than 25,000 minutes of reading have been achieved! More students are encouraged to jump in, register and track reading minutes in their Beanstack dashboards to be eligible for prizes that will be awarded at the end of the summer. The platform can be accessed through students’ Clever (digital learning platform) accounts.

All students who log reading minutes on Beanstack each week will be entered into weekly prize pack drawings. Contents of the prize packs will vary and could include books, games, art supplies, gift cards to local restaurants and shops, a summer reading tee-shirt or water bottle, and more! Weekly winners will be announced on social media and prize packs can be picked up the week of August 9th at the SBISD Technology Training Center, 14330 Memorial Drive, 77079. Grand prize information is coming soon. 

Another top reader in the district this summer is Santiago Yanez, who attends Frostwood Elementary. 

Santiago has read more than 40 adventure books this summer. He is also enrolled in two other area summer reading programs through the Houston Public Library and Barnes & Noble.

“I wanted to be in the challenge to have fun and read more,” Santiago said. 

“We are all about books at home,” parent Giuliana Castellanos said.  “You will always catch me reading, too.”

Her youngest child, Sofia, will be in the prekindergarten program at Wildcat Way starting in August -- a future Summer Reading Challenge contestant! She already loves to read and is enrolled in a program through the Houston Public Library that inspires young people to read 1000 books before kindergarten. 

Literacy is a top priority in Spring Branch ISD, and programs like the Summer Reading Challenge keep students inspired to develop reading skills, habits and a love for reading that will positively impact them academically and in life. 

Visit the Summer Reading Challenge website for steps to get involved, review lists of recommended books and access links to eBooks and audiobooks. Let us know what YOU are reading this summer at #SBISD_readers.