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Battling on the literature frontier

For the first time, with the collaboration of the Cold Lake Public Library and Northern Lights Pubic Schools (NLPS), students will be able to go head-to-head as they take part in a battle that is uniquely its own.
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For the first time, with the collaboration of the Cold Lake Public Library and Northern Lights Pubic Schools (NLPS), students will be able to go head-to-head as they take part in a battle that is uniquely its own.

Come January, local schools will be forming groups for kids interested in taking part in the Battle of the Books.

Broken into two age groups, the program pits schools against each other to see who will be crowned the winner of the Lakeland's first Battle of the Books.

"They will have book lists that they read and study over the next few months, and then they will compete against each other for knowledge and trivia based on those books," explained Christine Pilkington, Cold Lake library public services manager.

The list is anywhere from 50-60 books long, and includes a variety of reads from sci-fi to Canadian literature. NLPS literacy lead teacher Suzanne Aessie described the program as a way to introduce students to new genres they wouldn't otherwise read.

The junior teams include students from Grades 3 to 5, and the senior teams are for students in Grades 6 to 8. The junior battles take place March 21, 2017, with the seniors the following day. During this event, the winners for each category will be revealed.

Aessie brought the initiative to Cold Lake last year. She first came across the idea in Ontario, and played a role in the Battle of the Books during her time there. After moving to Cold Lake 12 years ago, she just recently decided it was time to bring the program here.

"She saw how once this has been developed and there are lots of students and teams it is really positive and a lot of fun," Pilkington said.

Since this is their first year, the program is starting small with only NLPS' Cold Lake schools participating. In the future, Aessie said she hopes to see the program expand into the Bonnyville area.

"We thought, why don't we see if we can just get it up off the ground?" explained Aessie, adding the Lakeland Catholic School District is on board for next year.

According to Pilkington, the response so far for the project has been enthusiastic all around.

Aessie said they are excited to be able to offer students an extracurricular option other than sports for socializing with their peers.

"We want it to be a lot of fun. We want it to be an option for kids who are really excited to participate in team or group activities but aren't (into sports). Or, they may also be interested in sports or other activities, but this is another option and it's related to literacy and reading and being excited about that," Pilkington said.

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