Read-a-Thon Letter to the Parents

Here is the letter that was sent home in October. It describes how the read-a-thon works. There is still a LOT of time left to earn the gold medal! Happy Reading!

Dear Parents,

We are excited to announce the 2011-2012 Ashley Falls read-a-thon! The program will run from October 24^th, 2011 through May 2012. The Read-a-thon is a program that brings students together with family and friends to encourage reading and to build literacy skills.

The read-a-thon is a fun, exciting journey for all participants as they travel across a giant bulletin board (located in the library) containing eight different stations, reading their way to awards, certificates, and finally gold medals for those who complete the entire journey. Students who complete the journey more than once will receive even more prizes at our gold medal ceremony at the end of the year. Participants may read on their own, with family, or friends. Listening to someone else read, in any language, or reading to someone else also counts toward the total your child will need to read. This year’s theme is “Book Buffet.” Students will be earning themed prizes and participating in food-themed activities in the library as they read their way through an eight course meal.

Grades kindergarten through third grade need to read 15 books per station (each 25 pages of a chapter book counts as a book), while grades fourth through sixth need to read 300 pages per station. (Third graders may choose to use the intermediate reading sheets). There are eight stations, so to earn a gold medal, primary readers need to read 120 books and intermediate readers need to read 2400 pages.  Blank record sheets have been given to each teacher and students are able to get them either in their classroom or in the library.

We understand that, as parents, you hold high expectations for the quality of education your child receives during the school day. By encouraging him or her to participate in the read-a-thon, you are expanding upon their learning and taking it into your home, increasing the school’s effectiveness. As we all know, parents are their children’s first and most important teachers. Your involvement in the read-a-thon will help your child develop a lasting love of reading.

We are looking forward to our Book Buffet read-a-thon. We will keep you informed about the process of the program and ways in which you can help your child be successful. Please let us know if you have questions about the program. The success of the read-a-thon greatly depends on the help of our parents. If you have interest in volunteering your time on Thursday mornings, please contact me, Karina Greenway at kgreenway@dmusd.org.

Thank you for your help in making our read-a-thon a success for our students! “Bon Apetit!” and have fun reading!! J

Karina Greenway

Ashley Falls Librarian