By Katie Vasquez
The students at St. Ephrem Catholic Academy couldn’t contain their excitement as the Dyker Heights school opened its new Eagles Readers Library.
Once upon a time, a long time ago, St. Ephrem had a different library, but it was converted into a classroom that was later used for storage.
When Michael Phillips took over as principal last year, he knew that had to change.
“It was a shocker,” Mr. Phillips said. “I want to bring back a library. I want to give them a space where, during the day, kids can come and find a way to escape reality.”
Carol Fell, the school’s Board of Trustees chairperson, was thrilled with the idea.
Reading was an experience she shared with her son, who graduated from the school in 1998.
“We reinforced it at home. But these children, not everybody has parents who are able to reinforce it at home,” Fell said. “And that’s why I feel it’s so important for them to have this exposure in school, not just in the classrooms, but to come into a peaceful and quiet space, pick up a book, and really grow to love reading.”
Ninety-five percent of the hundreds of books on the shelves were donated by families and community members.
“There’s a lot of books, and the books are very fun to read,” said Hughie Gallagher, a 2nd grader at the school.
Although it was hard to part with, 5th grader Ava Plantamura contributed some of her own books from home.
“We were going through the books because we wanted to make some extra space, and we thought that we could donate them, just to, like, you know, have more books.”
On Monday, the space was blessed by St. Ephrem pastor Father Robert Adamo, who also brought a portrait of Saint Jerome, the patron of librarians, to inspire these young Catholic readers.
“The children will also get to learn about this great man, who made a big contribution to the Christian world through the scriptures,” Plantamura said.
The Brooklyn school plans to create a “Saint Corner” so children can learn more about holy men and women. St. Ephrem also wants to invite authors to speak with students.
St. Ephrem says they will gladly accept more book donations! If you would like to help, just call 718-833-1440.