Learning & Teaching

HOME READING! 

We’re back into the swing of school life for 2024 and all students have begun taking their new reader diaries home ready to start their home reading. All classes have begun picking books to put into their green reader bags to get the reading ball rolling. 

This year classroom teachers will be sitting outside on Tuesday and Thursday mornings between 8:30 and 9:00am. This will give every student at our school the opportunity to read twice a week in the mornings at school with an adult. All classroom teachers will be outside ready to go to mark off reader diaries and we encourage any parents that would like to get involved to pop in at this time and listen to any of our awesome children read! 

While it's super exciting that morning reading is back we still need to ensure we are encouraging students to complete their nightly reading at home. To see the benefits of nightly reading at home please see visual below: 

It’s important that when you complete nightly reading with your children that you fill out their reader diaries. Not only is this a great way to help get your child a reading certificate at our whole-school assemblies but it’s also an excellent opportunity for the classroom teacher to identify if they’re practicing reading at home or just at school. Listening to your child read at home is such a great opportunity to be involved in their learning. When listening to your child read it’s important to: 

• Create a positive environment 
• Be patient
• Offer encouragement
• Ask questions about the text
• Celebrate progress 

This year our reading diaries look a little different and are different in the junior and senior ends of the school. To learn or refresh your memory on how to fill out your reader diary please see visual below:

Filling out the F-2 reading diary: 

Filling out the 3-6 reading diary: 

Every second week the classroom teachers will collect all reader diaries and count how many nights each student has read to see whether they will be rewarded a reading certificate at assembly. Students will receive a reading certificate when they have read 25, 50, 75, 100, 150 and 200 nights! 

It’s important for students to bring their green reader bag to school every day as they will partake in reading throughout the classroom, change their books, get their reading nights counted, and put important notes/correspondence that needs to go home in it. 

When we create a love of reading, there are positive effects on all children’s cognitive, emotional, and social development. It lays the foundation for a lifetime of learning, curiosity, and personal growth! Thanks for helping our school and our students to be the best readers they can be.