Award-Winning Summer Reading Program Bring on Summer, Bring on Books! #RDCRSREADS www.rdcrs.ca/programs/rdcrs-reads
If you don t use it, you lose it! This statement is true for children who do not read throughout the summer. Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools has developed the award-winning RDCRS READS Summer Reading Program to suit all elementary, middle and high school students needs. The program is designed to eliminate summer reading loss and foster a love of reading through continued access to books. The main goals of the program are to promote reading growth by getting books into the hands of students, increase access to books to eliminate summer reading loss and to have school libraries open during the summer months. Last year, the RDCRS READS Summer Reading Program put over 16,000 books into the hands of 2,000 elementary and 700 middle school students.
Benefits of Summer Reading Students who read throughout the summer months have shown an increase in reading levels in the following school year. Reading throughout the summer enables a student to pick-up where they left off after school has ended. Continuous reading not only supports, but also builds on students reading and language skills. With a variety of books available, students are able to develop a love for reading. Things to remember this summer: Make sure you (the adult role model) are seen reading daily. It works even better if you read at the same time as the child. For young children, looking at the pictures in books and turning pages qualifies as reading. This is because we become pictureliterate before becoming print-literate. Allow children to choose the books they wish to read themselves. Don t take a vacation car trip without recorded or audio books on board. They count too! Set some time parameters, short at first and longer as children get older and can read more. Newspapers and magazines, even comic books, should count toward reading time. Adapted from Trelease, J. (2010). Summer Reading: Research shows the most damage to reading skills occurs outside school - during the summer months. But not for all kids. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man and he will increase in learning. Proverbs 9:9
Red Deer Schools École Camille J. Lerouge School French Immersion students in Grade 2 will be able to take five books home for the summer. Grade 6-8 students will also be offered the choice to take books home for the summer. The Learning Commons will be open to Kindergarten to Grade 8 students two days per week from July 5 - August 17: Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Storytime at 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Makerspace (hands-on learning) starts at 1:00 p.m. École Secondaire Notre Dame High School Grade 10 and 11 students can take home choice novels from the Learning Commons for the summer. École Secondaire Notre Dame High School will be working in partnership with the Red Deer Public Library. The school will be offering weekly programming throughout the summer in the library. There will also be an online competition for students which will include online discussions about books, minutes spent reading and book trailers. École Secondaire Notre Dame High School swag bags will be awarded to top participants.
Father Henri Voisin School Grade 2 students will be able to take home a minimum of three books to read over the summer. Students are encouraged to visit the Red Deer Public Library s Timberlands Branch during the summer to take out and exchange books as needed. This partnership will help encourage students to develop a lifelong passion for reading. Holy Family School Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 5 students will participate in a schoolwide book swap in June. This swap will allow students to access gently used books to take home and read during the summer. The Learning Commons will be open twice a month in the summer where students can take out five books at a time: Thursday, July 7 & 21, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, August 3 & 17, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Maryview School Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 5 students will participate in a schoolwide book swap in June. Each student will take home 8 to 12 gently used books to read over the summer. In the spring, all students will visit the Red Deer Public Library on a field trip to learn how to take out books and are encouraged to sign-up for a free membership. This partnership will help encourage students to develop a lifelong passion for reading.
Red Deer Schools St. Elizabeth Seton School Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 5 students will participate in a school-wide book swap in June. This swap will allow students to access gently used books to take home and read during the summer. All students will learn how to take books out of the Red Deer Public Library in the spring and are encouraged to sign-up for a free membership. This partnership will help encourage students to develop a lifelong passion for reading. St. Francis of Assisi Middle School Grade 6 students will have the opportunity to take three books home for the summer. Grade 7 and 8 students are encouraged to do the same. The Learning Commons will be open for two days during the summer for students to exchange books: Wednesday, July 20 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, August 17 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. St. Martin de Porres School Students going into Grade 2 and 3 in the fall of 2016 will take home eight books to read over the summer months. The school has a continuous collection of gently used books for students to freely select for the summer.
St. Patrick s Community School Kindergarten to Grade 5 students will be given the opportunity to sign-up for free Red Deer Public Library membership cards and take out books to read over the summer months. Grade 6 to 9 students will also join the public library and learn how to access e-books. This partnership will help encourage students to develop a lifelong passion for reading. St. Teresa of Avila School Grade 2 students will be able to take home five books from the school library in June to support reading throughout the summer. Students are encouraged to visit a public library to obtain a free membership to help support a lifelong passion for reading. St. Thomas Aquinas Middle School Grade 6, 7 and 8 students will be able to take home at least three books for the summer from the school s Learning Commons. The school s librarian will be at the Red Deer Public Library (RDPL) downtown location once a week to assist with book selection and programming. Visit the RDPL website (www.rdpl.org) for more information.
Rural Schools École Mother Teresa School Sylvan Lake Grade 3 students will have the opportunity to take home six books for the summer. École Our Lady of the Rosary School Grade 2 students, who are attending École Mother Teresa School in September will be able to choose up to eight books from the Learning Commons in May to take home and read during the summer. École Our Lady of the Rosary School Sylvan Lake At the end of June, Kindergarten and Grade 1 students will choose up to six books to take home for the summer. École Our Lady of the Rosary School Grade 2 students who are attending École Mother Teresa School (EMTS) in September will be able to choose up to eight books from the EMTS Learning Commons to take home and read during the summer. Holy Trinity Catholic School Olds Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 7 students will have the opportunity to take home six books for the summer. The Learning Commons will be open one day per week: Tuesdays from 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. There will be a variety of activities and storytime throughout the day.
St. Matthew Catholic School Rocky Mountain House Grade 2 students will have the opportunity to take home four books from the Learning Commons for the summer. The Learning Commons will be open to all grades every second Wednesday from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on: July 6 July 20 August 3 August 17 Students will also have access to the Online Resources Centre throughout the summer to read books online. St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic School Innisfail Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 8 students will have the opportunity to take home up to six books from the Learning Commons for the summer.
Get involved this summer! Send us photos of your child(ren) participating in the RDCRS READS Summer Reading Program Two $50 gift cards will be randomly awarded to participants throughout the summer, so be sure to submit your photos!
Tweet or Instagram photos using the hashtag #RDCRSREADS Upload photos to your Facebook page and tag Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools in the post. Please be sure to set your photo settings to public. Email photos to joinin@rdcrs.ca Submitted photos may be added to the Division s or school s social media and websites throughout the summer or could be used in next year s program promotional materials.
#RDCRSREADS www.rdcrs.ca/programs/rdcrs-reads