Power NI boosts pupils love of reading with Carrowdore Primary School

Carrowdore Primary School pupils celebrate after receiving a £600 community grant, thanks to Power NI's staff sponsorship scheme 'Helping Hands'

The initiative encourages Power NI staff members to nominate local organisations to receive funding. Thanks to the nomination by Power NI employee’s, Victoria Mitchell and Stephen Booth, Carrowdore Primary School will purchase new schoolbooks which will help to increase their size of their library and to enable pupils to bring additional books home during the home-schooling period.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, library books must be quarantined upon return and are put into a period of isolation, meaning that Carrowdore Primary School have had to limit the number of books that can be issued to each child at a time.

This has been a particularly difficult year and reading has proven to be an invaluable refuge for the children and young people, helping support their mental wellbeing and enabling them to dream about the future.

The new schoolbooks will help to spread the joy of reading and to further enhance literacy development amongst all ages, through the pandemic and beyond.

Appreciative of the funding, Victoria commented:

“The £600 funding from Power NI has been a great help to the school to allow the library to be expanded. As a parent of two keen readers, I know how much the children will appreciate access to more books, and through them more adventures. Reading is such an important part of their education, particularly during these periods of remote learning.”

“This generous contribution from Power NI will provide resources that will benefit children in the school for many years to come.”

Rebecca Roe, Principal of Carrowdore Primary School also commented:

“We are delighted to have received this money towards expanding our Accelerated Reader library. We have already seen the benefits of the Accelerated Reader scheme in improving literacy standards and are really excited to be able to offer the children a whole new and exciting selection of books!”