A Foundation for All Learning

Radical Readers

Students are continuing to practice the strategies they learn in class from our CAFE. This week we focused on stretching out our words and fluency. Radical Readers do more than read the words on the page,they read the words using expression and they pay attention to punctuation. A fun thing to do one weekend with your library card is to go to the library and look at a series by an author.  (Fancy Nancy, Pete the Cat, Clifford, Biscuit, Arthur and Franklin are a few favourites.)  In Radical Readers our CAFE menu is growing and the students are really zeroing in on what strategies work for them to develop into a better reader.  We are loving the progress we are seeing and we are singing their praises to everyone! You are truly Radical Readers!

Awesome Authors

Students continue to write in their Morning Message booklets and look forward to the prompts that are displayed on the board, as they enter each morning.  It is amazing to see the progress that they have made in their printing, sentence structure and expansion of ideas. After reading parts of the book The Best Part of Me and discussing how each of us is unique, the students then wrote about their own best part. They also did a quick melon art project to complete this activity and wrote all about why they are one in a melon (really meaning, I’m One in a Million).  We have a few more writing projects to complete.  One will be centred around how to blow a bubble with bubblegum. After blowing a bubble, or attempting to, the students will write the steps involved in this process.  The students have been writing their observations, as their grass heads continue to grow!  We will be wrapping up their grass heads project, recording final measurements and even giving their grass heads stylish haircuts!!

Word Wizards

Each day we begin at the front of our classroom to read, create rhyming families, unscramble a sentence or sing-along while reading the lyrics of a popular song.  It’s just another way to motivate, while reinforcing our sight and sound vocabulary and improving reading fluency.  Learning those essential sight words and becoming more skilled at sounding out unknown words, also motivates students to read through our Dr. Seuss library.  Our  small group phonics lessons are designed to target the needs of each child, concentrating on mastery of all consonants, vowels and letter combinations to be able to tackle writing and reading at grade level.  This takes practice, exposure and more practice.  Daily reading and writing will help your child to recognize when their spelling just doesn’t look correct, as in toob / tube, kwit / quit, or mayk /make.   Sounding out words is much like eating a footlong sub.  It’s done in chunks, not all in one bite, as in the word trans-form-er.  It is important for your child to sound out words aloud, not silently.  Have your child read in everyday settings, like road signs and aisle markers at the store, or have them write the shopping list as you dictate. Words are everywhere, and if your child feels that they have the power to read and write anything, they’ll be on their way to success!

The Value Of Reading College

Like so many things, it’s hard place a value on Reading College.

Truth be told, if we had to charge for the program it would likely be in the neighbourhood of $2000 for each child. We know that’s not practical so we rely on the generous support of our community.

This program started eight years ago because of the incredible support of the Optimist Club of Red Deer.  This is one of their favourite projects and they are continue to be incredibly valuable partners.

Red Deer College provides all of their facilities at no cost. Not only do they make the space available, they expose our kids to future possibilities and hope they will become future students.

Prairie Bus Lines and Chartwells Food give us incredible deals so that we can get students to and from school and make sure they have great food.

Going into its fourth year, the local owners of Tim Hortons have made us their charity of choice for the SMILE Cookie campaign… be sure to buy those cookies in September.

INSPIRING KIDS TO READ

Both local community leaders, the Chapman and Turple families have a established endowments supporting Reading College.

TURPLE FAMILY FUND

As you can see, many other donors have stepped up to the plate and for each one of them, we are grateful.

ELIZABETH WILSON

ROSEMARY CONGDON

DON & CATHY GUKERT

PETER & KATHY LACEY

ARUN MISHRA

GERI THOMPSON

However, even more valuable, we are creating better futures for students.  Each one will have greater potential to graduate from high school. They go into grade three more confident in their abilities to read and write.  Let’s be honest, they’re having the best summer ever – we are creating great memories for each child!  Throughout the 21 days of Reading College when you see them try so hard and achieve success, it’s worth the smiles on their faces.  And best yet, come graduation day, when they throw those caps in the air celebrating their success and achievements with family and friends, you truly understand how valuable Reading College is.

For all those who make Reading College possible, we couldn’t be more grateful!

Bruce Buruma,

Executive Director
The Foundation for Red Deer Public Schools