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Students getting some reading help from their coach — their teacher.

A Canadian tradition is getting help from a favourite Canadian pastime.

The annual I Love to Read month festivities at Linden Meadows School are taking off with a new theme:

fuel your jets with reading. February is the time when schools across Canada encourage student readership, and Linden Meadows kicked off its celebration with an assembly showing the short film The Hockey Sweater and students were encouraged to sing along to The Hockey Song.

"Everyone is excited about reading and celebrating their favourite books," said Heather Eby, a librarian at Linden Meadows. "Reading buddies are in full force with our older students reading to our younger students and sharing their love of books."

Throughout the day students can visit the player’s reading bench and are rewarded for their progress with a puck; which is then used to fill a giant hockey net. The ultimate goal is to fill the net so Linden Meadow’s principal, Laura Zimmerman, can have a shoot out against a teacher at the final assembly.

Eby hopes the excitement will bring out some familiar faces.

"We would love guest readers from the community who would like to spend some time reading to a class or small group of students during February," said Eby, adding the school tried to get some Jet’s players to come out, but to no avail.

Anyone interested in reading at Linden Meadows School can contact Eby at heby@pembinatrails.com.

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A new program at Linden Woods Community Club is hoping to get energetic kids out of the house and into the dojo.

Little Ninja’s is a weekly karate class geared for girls and boys between the ages of five and seven. Using a combination of games, toys and traditional karate teaching, the program aims to keep kids active and introduce the etiquette of the sport and the importance of playing safe.

"We recognized that while younger children like to play at being ninja and often do karate kicks around the house," said program creator, Merrilee Zetaruk, a paediatrician and mother of two boys ages three and six.

Traditionally, karate training starts at age seven, but Zetaruk, a fourth degree black belt and instructor elsewhere, received many calls about getting younger kids involved. She created the program with the help of fellow instructors Jane Dick and Mark Bishop.

Little Ninjas do not need karate uniforms and there is no testing or competition at this level. Participants will receive a certificate at the end outlining their mastered karate techniques.

Classes are from 6 to 6:30 p.m. Mondays at Linden Woods Community Club. Contact Jane Dick at jdick@mts.net.

Daniella Ponticelli is a community correspondent for Linden Woods. You can contact her at daniella.ponticelli@gmail.com.