Brewster Masonic Lodge awards Bikes for Books

PATEROS – A pair of lucky Pateros elementary students are the latest winners of new bikes thanks to the Bikes for Books contest drawing at the Pateros school in June.

Third grader, Kray Hampe won a Next Wipe Out BMX bike and second-grade student, Brenda Isabel won a girls’ Next Girl Talk model. The bikes were provided by the Hermanos del Arte No. 315 Masonic Lodge of Brewster, that also purchases bikes for several other school libraries in the Okanogan and Chelan county areas.

Pateros school librarian, Pam Haley said that young readers qualify for the drawing by reading an AR (Accelerated Reader) book available through Renaissance Learning, Inc. a software and learning analytics company.

Thank you Masons for giving our students not only the chance to win a great bike but for motivating them to read more books.

After a student reads an AR book, a computer test is taken that provides immediate feedback on how well the reader performed. A score of 80 percent or better earns the reader a ticket for the bike drawing. The contest is open to second through fourth graders. Fourth graders read and pass two books to earn a ticket while second graders need only read and pass one book for a ticket.

Allen Fisher, a member of the Brewster Lodge said his group purchases bikes for school libraries in Pateros, Brewster, Bridgeport, Chelan and Manson at the rate of eight bikes in the fall and 10 in the spring for the semi-annual Bikes for Books drawings.