Literacy News

Building Skilled Readers at CPS

At Carnegie Primary School, we are focussed on building skilled readers—students who can decode, understand, and think deeply about what they read. We do this through evidence-based, explicit teaching in the classroom, supported by a clear and structured intervention program. This term, we launched the MacqLit Literacy Intervention Program for selected students in Years 3–6, building on the MiniLit program already in place for students in Years 1 and 2. MacqLit provides targeted literacy lessons and one-on-one support to strengthen reading skills, build fluency, and support students working towards year-level reading goals.

How It Works

Students in the program receive:

• Three 50 minute MacqLit lessons per week with our Literacy Intervention Specialist, Janette Taylor plus another 50 minute lesson with Helen Kennedy or Selina O’Sullivan (MacqLit trained Education Support staff members)
• We hope to have enough trained volunteers to conduct four Reinforced Reading sessions per week. This is one-on-one reading support.

These sessions are a vital part of our program to help students to consolidate strategies learned.

Volunteers are already making a Difference.

We are pleased to share that our Reinforced Reading Program is now underway. It’s been wonderful to meet our first five volunteers who have completed the short online training and are now paired with students to support their reading development.

Each volunteer has committed to either one or two 30-minute sessions per week with their student. I feel so grateful to have the opportunity to see this first-hand. It’s a genuine pleasure to watch these adults and students reading and smiling together, building confidence, connection, and a love of reading.

This program adds a meaningful layer to our school community by welcoming parents, carers, and extended family members into our learning environment. Most importantly, students feel supported and connected as they work towards their learning goals.

It’s not too late to get involved! If you’d like to learn more, click here.

Janette Taylor