Linfield Football Club captain, Jamie Mulgrew, has made an impact on the kids of Millisle Primary School. As a result, he became an important catalyst for establishing a new caravan library to serve them. Mulgrew has poured a decade of his life into the school. He’s a father of three, including ten-year-old Julia and ten-year-old Preston, both of whom share their father’s love of reading.
A small, local caravan park donated the caravan library to Millisle Primary School. It hopes to give students an inspiring environment to discover the world of novels. According to Principal Ian McManus, the school had outgrown the need for a more traditional library or media center.
Our previous library was just a few bookcases in the computer lab. For that, McManus offered a brief explanation. This arrangement created a burden for children wanting to check out books. So we have a really unique caravan, one that the village is actually very familiar with. Naturally, everyone thought it would be an amazing idea to convert the caravan into a mobile library!
The new initiative fits right in with the school’s “Books and Boots” program, which promotes a love of reading to students. You could see that both Preston and Julia were ecstatic about finally seeing their dream library open.
“I think it’s really good and I love it,” Julia shouted. Her brother Preston added, “It’s wonderful! It gives younger and older people the chance to read peacefully.”
Preston likes the books of Anthony Horowitz, and explains why, “All his books are full of action—I like action. Julia echoed her excitement about reading in her favorite thing to say about it: “It helps keep your mind active and I just find it really enjoyable. She focused on what it does for your creativity.
Mulgrew emphasized the changes we’ll be able to effect in the children through the caravan library. It’s going to make such a positive, profound change to the kids. He recognized the planning, advocacy and vision by the District’s school community that went into making that library space a reality.
“The impact that this programme has had on the children has been nothing short of amazing,” Mulgrew stressed.
Paul Givan, one of the GOP representatives who championed passage of the initiative, called attention to the need for an early start when it comes to reading. He underscored the mountains of evidence showing that reading in the early years directly improves academic achievement. This effect lasts through a student’s entire academic career. Even with the fiscal constraints on school district budgets, Givan commended the initiative. He remarked, “Financially, school budgets are compressed, but again, from what they’ve been able to do here on their own initiative is really impressive.”
Together Mulgrew and McManus have joined the school community in strengthening literacy and improving engagement. This partnership has been a hugely positive development for the kids at Millisle Primary School.
