By SHELBA NIVENS / Community Columnist

“I am so excited about this program,” said Chelsea Middle School teacher and Beta Club Sponsor Heidi Sheehan.

While Holli Mock, founder of the program, calls it a “wonderful adventure where everyone wins.”

And CHMS Principal William “Bill” Harper speaks of it as a wonderful collaborative program. They say middle school students gain a sense of responsibility and accountability through the program. Intermediate school students get to hear older kids read and talk to them about things such as the rewards of studying and making good grades, being responsible for your own actions, and showing respect for teachers and classmates.

What is this wonderful, rewarding activity?

It’s the new “Hornet Reading Program.”

Once a month, CHMS Beta Club (National Honor Society) members visit classes in the intermediate school for twenty-five minutes to read a chapter from a book, and share things about “life in general,” Mock said, adding, “Sometimes hearing from someone closer to your age makes an idea more real and valuable.”

Mock is the parent behind the program, the principal said. She approached him with the idea and he, CHIS Principal Dr. Resia Brooks, Sheehan, and teachers at both schools worked with her to implement it.

Harper said the Beta Club also has a math program where members tutor CHIS students who need help in math.

Sheehan said the Beta Club not only promotes good grades, but good character. Students inducted into this honor society must be of good character and keep a consistent high-grade level.

 

Shelba Nivens can be reached by email at Shelbasn@juno.com.