Lompoc Unified School District invites all students to participate in Book Bingo, the district’s 4th Annual Summer Reading Challenge that runs June 7-Aug. 14.

Interested students can join by picking up a bingo card; reading books that complete five bingo spaces in a row; and earning a sweet treat from Southside Coffee Company in Lompoc.

“I love this program,” said Katelyn Nelson, Vandenberg Middle School librarian, who is the coordinator and originator of the district’s Summer Reading Challenge.

“It promotes reading and gets our kids out into the community,” she said. “They can go to our public library to get books. When they win ‘bingo,’ they can turn their bingo cards in exchange for a treat from Southside Coffee Company.

“We have grown this program from 30 to 300 students,” she said. “This year, we are hoping to reach 1,000.”

“It is very important that students keep learning and reading throughout the summer,” said Superintendent Clara Finneran. “Reading is an essential school and life skill that needs to be practiced consistently. A lag in reading over the summer often means that students lose the progress they made during the school year.

“The Summer Reading Challenge is a fabulous way for students to enjoy summer with good books and keep their skills sharp.”

Keep up to date with Book Bingo on the Summer Reading Challenge Facebook Group:
https://bit.ly/SummerReadingFBGroup.

Students can also join the Google Classroom using the code 25t5hcm.

Lompoc Unified School District has more than 9,000 students in pre-kindergarten through high school in the city of Lompoc, Vandenberg Village, Mesa Oaks, Mission Hills, Vandenberg Space Force Base, and rural areas adjacent to these.