Perhaps the quintessential example of an effective transition can be found when one looks at Weedsport Elementary School's Summer Reading Challenge. Through our previous principal, Greg Hunter who retired this past July, the program was promoted throughout the month of June via newsletters, book list pamphlets and classroom visits.
When our current principal, Tim Cowin, entered his new position in July, he was able to give the children of our district his time and attention throughout the summer months by exemplifying the necessity and importance of reading, even when school was out of session.
The Summer Reading Challenge is the brainchild of our school's site based action team, which is the CARE team. CARE is an acronym for Community Accepting Responsibility for Education.
During this past school year, the team, including Hunter, decided that through a reading challenge, it would be a wonderful way to promote reading. As a result, each grade level helped to generate a reading list for their particular grade level.
Many of the intricacies and logistics of the challenge at both its inception in June of 2006, mirror those of this past summer's challenge. Participation in the challenge was purely voluntary. Students entering first through fifth grade had the opportunity to participate.
After each child completed his/her book(s), he/she or someone in his/her family would e-mail our Weedsport Central School's Web site and click onto the Summer Reading Challenge button. There, the student's name and book title would be logged in and one of our high school seniors, Jana Mlodzianowski, would enter the data onto a participation graph.
Reciprocity was self-evident as students and their families even had the opportunity to send e-mails to the principal, who would then in turn respond to their comments and queries. When I spoke to Cowin about his involvement with the program, he told me that he would check his Reading Challenge e-mails every Monday, and he would respond to each and every one by sending thoughts and questions back.
“It was a good way to connect and get to know each child that was involved, and it was a great way to let each participant know about the literature I enjoy as well,” he said.
Assistant director at The Weedsport Free Library, Diane Grant, also had a hand in the success of the Reading Challenge. She held book discussions once a week during the summer for students entering fourth and fifth grades in September. The books included Bruce Coville's “Goblins in the Castle” and Marty Crisp's “White Star: A Dog on the Titanic.”
“Both books were well liked by the group,” Grant said. “(The books) gave us some lively conversations during our get-togethers.”
Our APT, (Association of Parents and Teachers) helped to provide the Bruce Coville book for those students that partook in the book discussion. Again, Mlodzianowski assisted with this endeavor. She set up a blog for the participants.
And author Coville holds a very special place in the hearts and minds of our students, as he visited our building last spring to talk about being a writer. Coville himself even added a comment on the blog as well.
As is true for many new endeavors, it takes time for some things to get a foothold before their participants “hit the ground running and then take off.” So too is this the case for the increase in interest and involvement with the '07 Summer Reading Challenge as compared to the involvement during the summer of 2006. The total number of books read by students entering the following grade levels this past September are as follows: First - 315, second - 289, third - 120, fourth - 22 and fifth - 61.
The total number of books that were read in all by the entire group of 34 participants collectively is 807. That total exceeds the first year's by 449 books.
This 125 percent increase can undoubtedly be attributed to all those folks mentioned previously, in addition to the students involved from the challenge's inception to the present time.
As a culmination activity for the Summer Reading Challenge's 34 participants, Cowin and each student involved met in our Wee Warriors Cafe Oct. 4, where he hosted an ice cream social in celebration for the students' participation and efforts.
As our meeting came to a close, Cowin shared with me that he is already setting his sights on how he can work toward altering the program for next summer so that a greater involvement will be eminent. He said the CARE team, which he holds a seat on, has aspirations of involving 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds within our district in some way as well.
I hope that as many children as possible will become involved in the future summer.
Lynn Cheche Baker is a third-grade teacher at Weedsport Elementary School and is also the owner of the Successful Steps Tutoring Service .
The Summer Reading Challenge is the brainchild of our school's site based action team, which is the CARE team. CARE is an acronym for Community Accepting Responsibility for Education.
During this past school year, the team, including Hunter, decided that through a reading challenge, it would be a wonderful way to promote reading. As a result, each grade level helped to generate a reading list for their particular grade level.
Many of the intricacies and logistics of the challenge at both its inception in June of 2006, mirror those of this past summer's challenge. Participation in the challenge was purely voluntary. Students entering first through fifth grade had the opportunity to participate.
After each child completed his/her book(s), he/she or someone in his/her family would e-mail our Weedsport Central School's Web site and click onto the Summer Reading Challenge button. There, the student's name and book title would be logged in and one of our high school seniors, Jana Mlodzianowski, would enter the data onto a participation graph.
Reciprocity was self-evident as students and their families even had the opportunity to send e-mails to the principal, who would then in turn respond to their comments and queries. When I spoke to Cowin about his involvement with the program, he told me that he would check his Reading Challenge e-mails every Monday, and he would respond to each and every one by sending thoughts and questions back.
“It was a good way to connect and get to know each child that was involved, and it was a great way to let each participant know about the literature I enjoy as well,” he said.
Assistant director at The Weedsport Free Library, Diane Grant, also had a hand in the success of the Reading Challenge. She held book discussions once a week during the summer for students entering fourth and fifth grades in September. The books included Bruce Coville's “Goblins in the Castle” and Marty Crisp's “White Star: A Dog on the Titanic.”
“Both books were well liked by the group,” Grant said. “(The books) gave us some lively conversations during our get-togethers.”
Our APT, (Association of Parents and Teachers) helped to provide the Bruce Coville book for those students that partook in the book discussion. Again, Mlodzianowski assisted with this endeavor. She set up a blog for the participants.
And author Coville holds a very special place in the hearts and minds of our students, as he visited our building last spring to talk about being a writer. Coville himself even added a comment on the blog as well.
As is true for many new endeavors, it takes time for some things to get a foothold before their participants “hit the ground running and then take off.” So too is this the case for the increase in interest and involvement with the '07 Summer Reading Challenge as compared to the involvement during the summer of 2006. The total number of books read by students entering the following grade levels this past September are as follows: First - 315, second - 289, third - 120, fourth - 22 and fifth - 61.
The total number of books that were read in all by the entire group of 34 participants collectively is 807. That total exceeds the first year's by 449 books.
This 125 percent increase can undoubtedly be attributed to all those folks mentioned previously, in addition to the students involved from the challenge's inception to the present time.
As a culmination activity for the Summer Reading Challenge's 34 participants, Cowin and each student involved met in our Wee Warriors Cafe Oct. 4, where he hosted an ice cream social in celebration for the students' participation and efforts.
As our meeting came to a close, Cowin shared with me that he is already setting his sights on how he can work toward altering the program for next summer so that a greater involvement will be eminent. He said the CARE team, which he holds a seat on, has aspirations of involving 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds within our district in some way as well.
I hope that as many children as possible will become involved in the future summer.
Lynn Cheche Baker is a third-grade teacher at Weedsport Elementary School and is also the owner of the Successful Steps Tutoring Service .
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