- Noonan Elementary at Alice ISD purchased a book vending machine for the campus.
- The book vending machine was purchased with profits made from campus book fairs.
- Students will get tokens that they'll use to purchase books of their choice.
Food for thought at Alice Independent School District. Noonan Elementary purchased a vending machine, but this one doesn’t give out typical snack food.
The librarian at Noonan Elementary wanted to create a new incentive to get more students to read this year. The idea led her to a vending machine.
“Everybody’s been so excited,” Noonan Elementary’s Librarian Pamela Gonzales said.
She talked about the newest book vending machine. She said they received the book vending machine on Wednesday and it quickly got attention.
One particular second-grade student said the lights got her attention.
“I like it because I could test on them and read them. And I could keep them and read them all, everyday,” Noonan Elementary second grader Cianna Zamora.
One of her favorite books to read is ‘Pete The Cat’ which is in the vending machine.
“(To her reading is) fun and you get to see the pictures,” Zamora said.
Another student who’s taken some interest in the only book vending machine at the district is fifth grader Lorenzo Shearin. He doesn’t stop reading chapter books. He said he likes the adventures he goes on when reading.
“It looks pretty cool. I like the way you get rewarded for doing good, good deeds. I like the lights on it. And I really appreciate the school for giving it to us,” Shearin said.
The fifth grader can’t wait to see how his peers work towards the positive campus incentives.
“First of all it’s very important to read and also I think - it’ll make a lot of kids want to do good things just to get their favorite book,” Shearin said.
The campus’ librarian said the $6,000 machine is worth the price. Gonzales said the unique vending machine was an idea that another librarian presented to her. The machine was purchased with funds the campus got from book fairs.
“I think it’s really great that we have something as this as a reward to give students a positive relationship with reading. This is great way to encourage them to open a book and see what it’s all about,” Gonzales said.
Students won’t need cash for this brain food machine. They’ll receive special tokens through campus incentives to use. One token, one book, another way to promote literacy.
Librarian Pamela Gonzalez said reading is the foundation for the kids to have a bright future.
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