Left to right, Chester Elementary School 2nd graders Sean Forgue, Ayseluna Hockenbary, Owen Przbyla and Lilyan Ryan with their reading log folders, standing behind the book bags that will be distributed on July 31.(Photo submitted)
HUNTINGTON – Twenty seven students in grades K-3 currently attending Chester Elementary School will begin summer with a special boost to help retain learning by reading through the summer months. On July 31, they will gather together at the Huntington Public Library for a special celebration of reading; students who have logged a required number of minutes of reading to that point will receive prizes AND a bag of books to take home and keep.
The project was spearheaded by Chester teachers Mary Beth Radke and Donna Sullivan. It has two goals; first, it will help students retain reading levels over the summer vacation by giving students an incentive to read at home. Second, it will help families build home libraries by giving students books to keep. Research has shown a correlation between reading proficiency and the number of books children have at home.
All families in grades K-3 were sent an invitation to participate in the summer program. Children who returned a form signed by their parents were given a decorated summer reading log on June 24, where they will record their reading time.
When students gather on July 31 with their families, Radke and Sullivan, they will be treated to entertainment, a storyteller, and will win bags full of books for logging a required amount of reading in their journals. The number of required minutes will be different for each grade. Cyndi Oligny, the Huntington Town Library Assistant, will be the featured storyteller at this event.
Working with the Scholastic FACE (Family And Community Engagement) program, the teachers are able to purchase books at 43% (or more) off of the list price. Under the program, books must be given for home libraries, not returned for school use.
This project was funded through a special fund set up with the Gateway Education Foundation. “Liz’s Literacy Fund” was created by elementary assistant principal Elizabeth Bienia earlier this year. Faced with a milestone birthday (we won’t say which one!) Bienia asked those attending the party organized by her adult children to give a donation to “Liz’s Literacy Fund” instead of gifts. Teachers in grades PreK – 6 were invited to apply for one-time funding for a special project tied to elementary literacy. This program was selected for the $500 from the applications received.
“Gateway teachers have many more projects that need funding and the foundation is working hard to continue to raise money and support programs like this,” said Shirley Winer, President of the Gateway Education Foundation. Tax-deductible donations can be made at any time of year by mailing a check made payable to the foundation to 12 Littleville Rd., Huntington, MA 0105. On-line donations can be made with a credit card on the foundation’s web site http://gatewayeducationfoundation.yolasite.com/ .
