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Elton Gomori Youth Interactive Correspondent

Eaglesvale Preparatory School recently hosted a fascinating week-long literacy event dubbed “The Book Week”, which was officially opened by the school deputy headmistress and veteran educationist Mrs Precious Zembe.

Mrs Zembe  highlighted the importance of reading to learners, educators, and all members of society. She said that the cure to ignorance was in the pages of books.

Mr Zembe encouraged the learners to frequently visit the school library and community libraries and immerse themselves in reading as it was a virtuous lifestyle.

“Books are friends of the wise and today’s readers are the ones who will culminate into tomorrow’s leaders.”

“If you want to become great in any facet of life, you need to adopt the noble culture of reading books,’’ said Mrs Zembe.

The opening was marked by songs, dances, speeches, poetry and drama in support of a reading culture.

The learners and teachers worked together to promote the benefits of reading in a way that was as exceptional. The buzzwords for the week at the institution were ‘reading’ and ‘book’.

Some publishers and bookshops were invited and they had stands dotted around the school where they exhibited and sold books throughout the Book Week.

The parents of learners supported the event well  as  evidenced by the high book sales.

The learners frequented both the school tuck shop and the book sales stands  in pursuit of knowledge and awareness. What was more telling was how the school evolved into a huge reading pool during the week.

Reading was more pronounced during the Book Week and  the coordinator of the event, Pareremoyo Mazarura, would blow the whistle to signal time to read a book.

Whenever he blew the whistle, everyone on the school premises stopped whatever they were doing, grabbed a book and started reading anywhere.

The sight of learners rushing out of the swimming pool, grabbing a book, and reading right on the swimming pool terraces was such a marvel to watch.

Imagine the picturesque of a groundsman seating beside a lawn mower with a book in his hand, heeding the call to read a book.

Imagine the surreality of having learners reading seated in the sports fields or school kitchen staff  turning off stoves and ovens and reading books right amid pots and pans in response to the ‘read a book’ signal.

Such amazing scenes enveloped Eaglesvale Preparatory School this week.

As the event later went into its final stages, pupils displaying their reviews on the display boards and presented reviews of their favourite books.

Speaking on the sidelines of the book review session, a Grade 6 pupil, Nyasha Kamhozo , said she was happy with the literacy event.

“The Book Week was astonishing, I have never been as attracted to books before as I did, and the books we were exposed to were amazing – the authors put passion, meaning, skill, and emotion into the books.

“Honestly, it was like travelling across the world through the books,” she said.

The event came to an end on February 16 with the theme ‘In love with books’.

All the learners had their academic version of Valentine’s Day in which they celebrated and expressed their love for books.

They all came to school dressed in black, red, and white, and more time was allocated to reading in and out of classrooms.

Kudakwashe Tinofa, the school’s head girl, said as an aspiring author, the event resonated with her dreams and aspirations.

“We were being prepared to face our future armed with the necessary knowledge. Reading is the hallway to success. I am especially intrigued to note young women being driving forces in literature, for example Keith Marufu who, at the age of sixteen, wrote and published ‘Leaves Of Love: Poetry and Anthology’ and her memoir ‘When I Grow up’.

“The future of literature is very female, girls are winning in that space…,’’ she added with a smile.