IT’S BACK!

The Discovery School

READ-A-THON! 

At Discovery School we love to read and we want to motivate our students to continue to discover the wonderful world found in books, where just about anything can happen! Through our second  READ-A-THON our Early Childhood and Elementary (Grades K-5) students will be encouraged to read more often in the classroom and at home.

In organizing this READ-A-THON our objective is to help our students re-discover the joy of reading.  A READ-A-THON  is an event that encourages students and their families to read more, try new books, and have fun doing it. Extensive research proves that children who read for pleasure will gain advantages that last their whole lives. Research also demonstrates with overwhelming evidence that literacy has a significant relationship with a person’s happiness and success. Furthermore, the academic benefits of a strong leisure reading habit are not confined to improved reading ability. Leisure reading makes students more articulate, develops higher order reasoning, and promotes critical thinking – all of these skills for lifelong learning skills!

Our READ-A-THON will take place from March 2 to March 27, 2015. Each student will be given a Reading Log sheet and a special bookmark for this event. The goal is for every student to read as many books as he or she can, and keeps a record of his or her reading. Once the sheet had been filled out, each student will need to turn it in to their homeroom teacher, and will be given a new one. The student in each class who, at the end of the month, reads more grade level (or above grade level books) will be honored in an assembly, and will be treated to a special lunch  (Sponsored by the DPTO) outside the school on Friday, April 11. 

We ask our parents to support his initiative at home by providing their child with appropriate books for reading. Parents can borrow books from their child’s class library, check out books from our school library, download (free or purchased) books for their e-readers, borrow from a friend…the possibilities are endless! Let’s face it, parents will LOVE seeing their child lost in the world of a “cant-put-it-down” book! Who doesn't want to bring reading back into family time?!

WHAT ARE SOME SPECIFIC BENEFITS OF READING?

We all know that reading is beneficial to children. But why is that? Here are some specific benefits that as parents we need to know about reading and our children.

v  Reading to your child makes you bond with him or her.

v  Reading calms your child, especially when restless.

v  Reading promotes increased communication between you and your child.

v  Many studies show that students who love learning and do well in school.

v  Reading promotes longer attention span, which is an important skill for your kid to be able to concentrate.

v  Reading builds listening skills and imagination.

v  Books teach your child thinking skills early. When you read to your child, he/she learns to understand cause and effect, he learns to exercise logic, as well as think in abstract terms. He/she learns the consequences of actions, and the basics of what is right and wrong.

v  Books teach your child about relationships, situations, personalities, and what is good and what is bad in the world he lives in.  Fantasy books provide material for his imagination and free play.  Fairy tales fascinate your kid, and help him distinguish between what is real and what is not.

v  Children who read gain new vocabulary and syntax

v  They become familiar with story and text structures

v  Reading stimulates and expands their imaginations

v  Fosters empathizing with other people's feelings and problems, and teachers ways to cope with their own feelings and problems

v  Helps in developing an interest in new subjects and hobbies

Our School READ-A-THON will begin on March 2, 2015, and will carry on throughout the month of March.  We hope our parents will encourage our students to read, read, read! 

TEACHING OUR CHILDREN TO BE GOOD FRIENDS!

Making friends (and keeping them) are important life skills to have. Friendships can be developed in many different settings. Having good friends makes you happy. Being a good friend is not a skill that kids just pick up from hanging out with other children on the playground. Developing friendships takes a lot of work (both by parents and kids), but can be one of the most rewarding things to happen in a child’s life.  Here are some simple ways to help teach your child about being a good friend. 

v Explain to your child what good friends do. Good friends…

ü Remember important things (birthdays, accomplishments, etc.)

ü Use kind words.

ü Are reliable.

ü Help out when a friend is sad or has a problem.

ü Share ideas and treats

ü Like to spend time together.

ü Respect each other's differences.

ü Have fun with one another.

ü Make each other a better person.

v Read books about friendship. There are so many amazing friendships that are portrayed in children’s books, such as Frog and Toad for the little ones, and Charlotte’s Web for the older ones.

v Set a good example and be a good friend yourself. As with anything you are trying to teach your child, setting the example with your own actions is the most powerful lesson you can ever teach.

v Role play how to be a good friend. Take advantage of the opportunity to “act out” how a good friend behaves –in school, in church, at a friend or family gathering.

For more child friendly reading, visit http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetailsKids.aspx?p=335&id=1636&np=286