Newtown Middle School students recently had a chance to enjoy their school’s annual Scholastic Book Fair, which ran from Monday, October 21, to Friday, October 25. Students could shop with their classes Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, while families could shop on Thursday and Friday during parent/teacher conference times.

Much like in previous years, the book fair was entirely volunteer run and set up by the Middle School PTA. They rolled out and lined the shelves and tables in the school’s lobby with dozens of books. Each section carried a different genre, including but not limited to sci-fi, thriller, fantasy, and romance.

Students could also buy one of many posters on display at the back wall of the lobby, or they could buy other items such as journals or bookmarks spread throughout the shelves and tables.

From traditional chapter books, manga, and graphic novels to cookbooks, coloring books, and sticker books, NMS PTA Vice President Jessie Kenney said that the PTA wanted there to be “a little bit of something for everybody.” The book fair is an extension of the group’s efforts to support students and staff, and to give them many different positive events and opportunities throughout the school year.

“We just really want kids to enjoy reading and give it a shot when they have so many other things they could spend their money on or invest their time in,” Kenney said. “Even if they’re not necessarily into reading and they love other things like cooking or drawing, we hope everyone can find something they’ll like or even try something new.”

According to Kenney, the Middle School PTA typically tries to hold a Scholastic Book Fair twice a year, once in the fall and another one later in the spring. This is especially important because she says that Scholastic “doesn’t really do high school book fairs,” so middle school is the last school where students have a book fair.

She added that the Middle School PTA wanted everyone to have a chance to read. To that end, the group wanted to support students with financial hardship who might be unable to buy something at the book fair. The school’s social worker and counselors would carefully determine if a student is experiencing financial hardship, and would then provide them with a voucher to get something at the book fair.

In addition to that, several books were priced at a discount by Scholastic, so students could find a lot of books priced for very little according to Kenney. She also said that they randomly drew two student and two staff winners every day of the book fair to add some extra fun and excitement into the event. These winners would get vouchers to use during the book fair.

To the several NMS PTA members who helped run the book fair, they all agreed that they love having a chance to support their children’s school and to create fun opportunities more than anything else.

Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.