Saturday April 25th, 26 students from the Middle and High School attended a Library Challenge Reward trip to Powell’s Books and the Lan Su Chinese Garden in downtown Portland. Several of the students called it, “The best day ever.”
Students completed a 10 genre challenge at the Middle School reading books in at least 10 different genre areas in the middle school library to celebrate the new fiction organization in that library. High school students participated in five monthly library challenges where they read a book on a specific theme during each month to qualify.
After arriving at Powell’s, students had an hour and a half to wander in small groups to find books all over the building. Alyssa from Powell’s collected those books and helped us skip the lines. The Mudd-Nick Foundation made sure that we had money for every kid to spend $27 dollars, and because of Powell’s generous 15% discount – we could have spent even more! (Oops! Sorry kids!) Many kids were able to take advantage of used and sale pricing to get multiple books!
After Powell’s we walked down to the Golden Horse Chinese Restaurant – one of downtown Portland’s classic restaurants that is only one block from the Lan Su Chinese Garden.
Dishes were served family style – and the portions were more than generous. So much so that each kid got to pack a leftover box, and the restaurant refrigerated the leftovers for us while we were in the gardens, and gave us a bag of ice to be able to take them home safely for kids to eat later. Many kids tried new foods and found new foods they liked! Thank you Sophy Li from Golden Horse for making our visit possible!
Once we got to the Chinese Gardens – kids were able to spread out – find a quiet spot and read the books they just purchased. We had a lot of time to enjoy the beauty of the gardens – watch the koi swim – and READ!
On a personal note, I have organized many many field trips over the last 21 years at NKN. This one is the favorite trip I have ever organized. Many thanks to Alyssa J. at Powells, Sophy Li at the Golden Horse Chinese Restaurant, and Haley R. at the Lan Su Chinese Garden for making our visit so special. Thanks also to the chaperones: Katie G. Jackie T. Megan L. Melissa M. and Michael D. for all your support in making this trip safe and fun for all.
Also, we can’t do these amazing trips without the incredible support of the Mudd Nick Foundation – Thank you so very much for all you do for the students at Neah-Kah-Nie School District. This was a memorable trip for all…
Thanks!
Kathryn Harmon (She/Her/Hers)
NKN High School Teacher Librarian
FIRST Tech Challenge Robotics Coach
