TTHEK'EHDELI/JEAN MARIE RIVER - Burying their noses in books has brought rewards to the students at Louie Norwegian School.

The school in Jean Marie River won the grand prize of $5,000 in curriculum-approved books in the Pipeline to the Future Literacy Contest sponsored by Enbridge Pipelines (NW) Inc. The contest, which is in its eighth year, encourages students in the Deh Cho and the Sahtu to read.

By reading books such these ones, students at Louie Norwegian School including Zaida Sanguez, left, Kyla Norwegian, Alisha Grossetete and Rhonda Grossetete won the grand prize in the Pipeline to the Future Literacy Contest. - photo courtesy of Terry Davidson

Terry Davidson, principal at Louie Norwegian School, decided it was important for his eight students to participate both for their own personal growth and to meet one of the school's goals, promoting literacy.

During the 10-week contest in September and November students are encouraged to read for 20 minutes each night. The school with the highest percentage of students reading throughout the contest wins.

To make sure students read, Davidson enlisted the help of their parents.

"They were extremely supportive," he said.

"They made sure this happened every night."

Davidson also arranged a time after school for the students to read while supervised.

"The further they got into this the more dedicated they became," he said.

The students realized they might be recognized for their efforts but they weren't expecting to win the grand prize, said Davidson.

The school however, achieved a 93 per cent participation rate. Their closest competitor was Chief Albert Wright School in Tulita at 56 per cent.

Davidson said he and the students will decide together which books will be purchased with the $5,000 prize.

"It's going to make a remarkable difference to our library," he said.

"I'm very thrilled about it."

Alisha Grossetete, 13, is also excited about the prospect of having new books in the school.

Already an avid reader Grossetete didn't find it a challenge to meet the 20-minute daily reading requirement. During the contest Grossetete completed reading Eclipse, the third book in the Twilight series and began Breaking Dawn, the fourth book.

A total of 11 schools in the two regions participated in this year's contest. Bompas Elementary School in Fort Simpson and Chief Albert Wright School in Tulita were selected in a draw from among the participants to receive the regional prizes of $2,500 each in curriculum approved books.

One student from each school was also chosen from a draw to receive a $500 Canada Savings Bond.

The Deh Cho winners include Jada Lamalice-Jumbo of Trout Lake, Ruby Betsaka of Nahanni Butte, Jason Rowe of Fort Simpson, Tarek Leahy of Kakisa, Ariel Capot-Blanc of Fort Liard and Zaida Sanguez of Jean Marie River.

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