A group of students at Lynn Fripps Elementary are taking their 'joy of reading' to a whole new level.
Earlier in the year, the five intermediate students formed a team and entered to compete in the Fraser Valley Regional Library's Reading Link Challenge.
The challenge has many objectives, one of which is "to promote a life-long love of reading."
It's a process that starts in the fall for students at schools all over the District and region.
As part of the challenge, students put their literacy skills, such as comprehension and communication, to the test.
According to the school's Teacher-Librarian Tara-Lynn Espitia, the teams are given the same six books to read.
"After reading and studying the books for five months, on Reading Link Challenge day, teams compete by answering questions to test their knowledge of the books," explained Espitia.
"After three rounds of 12 questions, the team that answers the most questions correctly wins the challenge," she added.
The Evermore Readers, which is the team's name, likely inspired by one of pop-superstar Taylor Swifts' albums, is comprised of Celine, Nicole, Isla, Mila, and Maya.
After winning in their school-based Reading Link Challenge, The Evermore Readers competed against students from other schools across the District.
Another successful win at that stage helped them advance to the Fraser Valley Reading Link Challenge, where they were up against eight teams, including groups from Abbotsford, Chilliwack and Maple Ridge.
The team was awarded a silver medal and an invitation to compete in The Grand Challenge on Wednesday, May 1, where they will face teams from across the Lower Mainland.
"This exciting challenge will determine the winner of the Reading Link Grand Challenge Trophy," said Espitia.
Espitia credits the team's advancement to fellow library technician at Lynn Fripps, Julie Van Berkel, who played an "instrumental role in their success."
"We worked collaboratively to make this program happen and support this team. We are so proud to have this team represent our school district!"
This year, 540 teams from 120 schools in the Fraser Valley Regional Library communities participated in Reading Link Challenge. For more information, visit this webpage here.
