Book sale: formerly First Avenue and now Mutchmor

[ezcol_1half]By Kylie Taggart

The students moved, the teachers moved and the book sale moved too. The book sale that has been a fixture of the Glebe community’s springtime calendar for 33 years will be held at Mutchmor Public School for the first time this year, from April 21 to 24.

The sale was previously held at First Avenue Public School. However, in September, the early French immersion program the book sale supports moved to Mutchmor Public School.

The move followed extensive consultations on what to do with overcrowding at First Avenue Public School due to the popularity of the Ottawa Carleton District School Board’s (OCDSB) early French immersion program. The end result of consultations was students and staff at Mutchmor switching schools with students and staff at First Avenue Public School at the start of this school year.

An addition designed by Barry Hobin and Associates was built at Mutchmor Public School to accommodate the move of the early French immersion program. First Avenue is now home to the OCDSB’s English program, the gifted program and the middle French immersion program.

The Muchmor Public School book sale will take place from Thursday, April 21 to Sunday, April 24. The book sale will be held in a large, multipurpose room in the [/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end]basement of the new addition at Mutchmor. The room was built in case more classrooms or community spaces are needed in the future.

Typically, students collect 27,000 to 30,000 good-quality books, CDs, DVDs and records. They are sorted, shelved and sold by an army of volunteers, most of whom are parents of students at the school.

Proceeds from the book sale are partly used to fund classroom supplies, sports equipment, library purchases, cultural presentations and other school needs. Some of the money raised is distributed to other local schools and the Education Foundation of Ottawa, which helps local students in need. Funds from last year’s book sale were also sent to support programs at a school in Northern Ontario and one in Nunavut. Finally, some of last year’s book sale proceeds were used to match fundraising efforts by the school’s philanthropy club to make a donation to the Ottawa Centre Refugee Action group.

The book sale is a multi-faceted event. As well as being a fundraiser, it also promotes literacy, recycling and community spirit. Mutchmor students are given a chance to spend $5 at the sale during the school day. The excitement for books that day is palpable throughout the school. Many families find the book sale a good way to recycle books they’ve read and shop for new reading material. The sale is often a meeting place for neighbours, whether volunteering or shopping.

More information on the Mutchmor Book Sale is available on the school website at www.mutchmorps.ocdsb.ca. [/ezcol_1half_end]

Kylie Taggart is a Mutchmor parent who remembers the excitement of attending the first book sale at First Avenue and is happy to relive it with her children each year.