Roachdale Public Library celebrating school reading, busy summer schedule

Putnam County is a large and diverse county encompassing a lot of small communities. Director of the Roachdale Public Library Jennifer Stranger grew up and graduated from North Putnam and says she is blessed to still work in the community.

The Roachdale Public Library wanted to take a moment and celebrate the teachers, aides, staff, students, parents, grandparents and supporters of Roachdale Elementary, with a huge thank you to Principal Beth Waterman at Roachdale Elementary. Together, we embarked this year on a reading challenge to get the students excited about reading and expanding their horizons.

Director, Jennifer Stranger stated, “We honestly had no idea how long the program would hold steam. We found our answer - the ENTIRE school year!”

Over the course of the year, the students at Roachdale Elementary read over 19,000 (19,220!!!!) books and chapters.

Stranger continues, “Students began reading new genres, recommending books to friends, and sharing stories with each other. For all of the parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers, aides, and caregivers who have been encouraging these students - THANK YOU!!!!!! What an amazing group of kids!”

On the final day of school, during the awards ceremony, Mrs. Stranger and Mrs. Waterman celebrated the top readers .

Roachdale Public Library is also offering a full line up of summer programs for all ages this summer! In addition to their traditional Summer Reading program on Thursdays (3:30-4:30 p.m., June 1-July 20), there is a separate program for students going into 4th-12th grades on Tuesday afternoons (1-2;30 p.m. June 6 to July 11) and family programs on the 1st & 3rd Monday evenings (6:30-7:30 p.m.) and Saturday afternoons (1-3 p.m.).

But wait – there’s more!

Thanks to generous sponsorship from Tri-County Band & Trust and Hoosier Heartland State Bank, the Roachdale Public Library is also offering FREE yoga classes at the Roachdale Community Center. Tuesdays at the Community Center, adults can try out Chair Yoga with Kim Green of Quest for Balance from 3-4 p.m. (June 6, 13, 20, and 27). In addition, Katherine Asbell will lead a Beginner’s Yoga class at the Community Center on Thursdays from 6:30-7:30 p.m. (June 8, 15, 22, and 29).

The library is also partnering with the Roachdale Friends of the Library and Roachdale Community Park to offer FREE lunches on Wednesdays at 11 a.m. from June 7 - July 19.

Check out all of the library events on their Facebook page: Roachdale Public Library, or contact Jennifer at 522-1491 or via e-mail roachdalepubliclibrary@gmail.com.