“We were hoping for much more student involvement,” said MFS librarian Martha Reilly about this year’s summer reading program.  The summer reading program is in its third year, but this is the first year it is student-run.  The switch was made to encourage students to be more excited about the program and to meet the interests of every student.  Juniors Luke Bianco and David White were ready to take on the running of the program, and when offered the positions by Reilly they were more than happy to oblige. “It chose us,” exclaimed Bianco when asked why he and White decided to run the program.  Bianco and White–enthusiastic about both reading and writing–are members of Literature Club.  Bianco and White wanted to share their enthusiasm about reading with other students and get them to read during the summer.

Previously, an assembly was held near the end of each year describing the offered books to the students.  This year, Reilly took a different approach to inform the students about the books.  “It was recommended by a student that the program should allow students to be more anonymous when recommending books,” says Reilly.  Taking this into account, Bianco and White created a link that was sent out to every high schooler, allowing for everyone to remain anonymous while recommending books.  “This year, we got twenty recommendations, which is even greater than previous years,” said Bianco of the program’s success this year.  Bianco and White both agree that this year’s books also meet student’s interests much better than they have in past years.  Reilly is also very pleased with the variety of this year’s summer reading books and explains that for the summer reading program, the third time was in fact the charm.

When asked what they liked the most about the 2014 summer reading program, Bianco and White both agreed that communication between students and teachers was most favorable. “I made a lasting friendship with Mrs. Reilly,” says Bianco, and White exclaimed, “Mrs. Griffis is my girl.”  Bianco commented, and White agreed, that “it was an interesting experience, containing hard work and responsibilities, but nonetheless a very fun process.”