R U IN2 UR KIDS READIN N RITIN?

More and more teachers are finding that students are using this type of MSN short forms in their daily schoolwork, tests, essays and assignments. And as this year the Separate School Board and St. Mary’s Catholic Secondary School are focusing on “Numeracy and Literacy”, the School Council would like to address this issue and give parents suggestions for improving our children’s’ literacy so that the teachers will be seeing this title as “Are you into your kids reading and writing?”

  • Let your children choose their reading material according to their personal interest whether it be books, magazines of fashion, sports or travel; comic books, newspapers, or articles on the internet.
  • Give books as gifts to show that reading is important.
  • Help your teens start a reading club and have them exchange books.
  • Receive a daily newspaper at your home and discuss newspaper articles at dinner or during the evening.
  • Proof read your child’s assignments and get them to use “spell check”.
  • Be a role model and let your children see you reading novels, newspapers and magazines.
  • Use the 40 hours community service to read at elementary schools, nursing homes, in hospitals to adults or children, and at retirement homes or reading to older relatives to share quality time.
  • Search the Internet for suggested teen books. A suggested site is “High School – Literacy – Parents or Home – Teen book suggestions.
  • Ask at the library or local bookstore for author suggestions by giving movie examples that your child enjoys.
  • Reading the book that a movie was taken from to do a comparison between the two.
  • Take an interest in what your children are reading by sharing your child’s books to encourage discussions on views of the books.
  • Play family board games that encourage reading and writing.
  • Check out the reading programs at the public and school library.
  • The accelerated reading program for St. Mary’s English program is available for all students during the entire school year. See the Librarian for details.
  • Setting aside family reading time where the family either shares the same book by reading allowed or quiet time where everyone reads their own material.

KEEP READING

St. Mary’s Catholic Secondary School Council