Clare County Library and 28 National Schools in the county have joined forces with Clare Garda Division for the fourth consecutive year for the promotion of reading among children. All children on roll in each participating school are busily reading in an effort to be named the top readers in the world through the WOW Transatlantic Reading Challenge.

Established by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Nova Scotia, Canada with a view to decreasing crime by increasing literacy, the Reading Challenge Project has been greatly assisted by Gardai in Clare under the leadership of Sergeant John Staunton, Ennis Garda Headquarters.

The ultimate aim of the Challenge is to shine a spotlight on reading and its benefits, in a fun and exciting way that has schools all over the county registering the numbers of books they read over six months on a specially designated website. Children who read well and read regularly have higher self esteem. This allows them to make better decisions which could reduce criminal acts, such as bullying, and create positive thinking adults in the future.

The WOW Reading Challenge engages the entire community in its efforts to encourage kids to read. The Challenge is a partnership between the Police, Public Libraries, Schools and the community as a whole.

Clare County Library staff along with members of the Gardai will visit schools over the duration of the Challenge to meet with school children and their teachers and encourage them to read as much as possible using books from their school and public libraries and from their collections of books in the home. Topics discussed during these informal visits include the types of books available at the library suited to age and interests, work as a librarian and as a member of the Gardai and class novels are read and discussed in some schools by visiting Gardai and librarians. Clare County Library wishes to thank the teachers who schedule such visits to their schools.

The school that has read the most by April 2010 will be awarded a substantial book prize with prizes also for schools who come second and third. This year’s WOW Reading Challenge National Schools in County Clare are Ballycar, Ballyea, Ballyvaughan, Bansha, Burrane, Cahermurphy, Clohanes, Clouna, Connolly, Cooraclare, Coore, Corofin, Cratloe, Doonaha, Doora, Dromindoora, Furglan, Holy Family Jnr., Inagh, Kilfenora, Kilmihil, Kilmurry, Kilnamona, Moveen, Moyasta, Quin, St. Conaires, Shannon, and Tubber

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