Reading program rewards students with bikes in time for summer

During a schoolwide assembly at Wells Elementary School on the morning of June 12th, first through fourth-grade teachers with members of Masonic Ocean Lodge 142 in the audience awarded 56 new bicycles, helmets, and t-shirts to their students who read the most books in this year’s Masonic Bikes for Books reading program sponsored by the Grand Lodge of Masons in Maine, the Maine Masonic Charitable Foundation plus donations from area businesses and individuals  This is the ninth year for this program at WES coordinated with Lodge 142 by Literacy Specialist Bonnie Esty. 

This contest begins in the spring when students select school-approved books they find interesting and want to read. For every book finished, a student earns one entry into a classroom drawing.

Bicycles given out this year were ordered through Wal-Mart for $8,000. As in past years, members of Ocean Lodge 142 assembled all of the bicycles.

Wayne Smith is a member of Lodge 142. “The support from all of our local business owners and individuals was wonderful,” commented Smith. We could not make this happen without their generosity and ongoing support.”  According to Smith, about 450 bikes have been awarded to WES students since June 2015.

According to a Bikes for Books brochure, the program is a statewide initiative “to foster literacy programs in schools and encourage healthy exercise.