Vinton Elementary now home to book vending machine
Rita LeBleu
A more exciting treat than candy lit up the eyes of Vinton Elementary students as they dropped their coins into a new vending machine — books, 300 of them, all brightly colored and beckoning. This is the first school in the district to have such a machine.
Vinton Elementary Student of the Year Pate Stine cut the ribbon in a special video-streamed ceremony Friday. She selected a book from the Tom Watson “Trouble at Table 5” series.
Every book is different. When a book drops, it’s exciting to see what’s behind it. If Stine could have gotten an Ann M. Martin “Baby Sitters Club” novel, she would have. Those are her favorite.
Second-grader Lucius Miller was bustling with excitement and ready to drop his gold inchworm coin into the machine for a Barney Book titled, “Favorite Easter Stories.” He plans to read it to his little sister. She’s 4.
The VES community has been working for nearly two years to earn the money to purchase the machine.
“They’re pricey,” said Principal Lori Young. “We sold candy grams and had a Santa Shop.”
The school’s Partner in Education, Westlake Chemical, matched funds raised by the Title 1 Action Team Partnership. Just after the storms, Young also received an email from a private donor who wanted to help.
“This person had significant storm losses,” Young said, “yet felt compelled to purchase the machine. I repeatedly said, ‘Are you sure about this?’ The donor being a person of faith, responded, ‘When the Holy Spirit tells you to do something, you do it.’ The arrival of the machine during Read Across America Week is perfect timing.”
The machine is being integrated into the school’s Cubby Cash economy system, which encourages students to reach academic and behavior goals set by teachers. Students use the Cubby Cash earned to purchase special tokens needed for the book machine. Students keep the books. To keep the machine filled, the school is accepting donations of new books. To find out more, contact the school at 217-4520.
Rita LeBleu