BY MORGAN CHITTUM
Over 200 students at Sacred Heart Catholic Academy in Glendale celebrated their first ever Literacy Week this month. The event is dedicated to recognizing the importance of reading.
Sacred Heart kindergarten teacher Jennifer Velez says the week was a great way to bring the students together to share their affinity for reading.
“We thought promoting literacy in students was really important for their love of reading and we feel that literacy is important because it brings our students into a lifelong community of learning. It engages our students in meaningful ways,” Velez said.
Literacy Week featured activities around students’ favorite books, characters and literary events.
Students from the nursery to the third grade participated in a Character Scavenger Hunt where they searched for different book characters throughout the school. Children saw characters such as Harry Potter, Fancy Nancy, Paddington Bear and Pinkalicous.
They also brought in flashlights and blankets for Cozy Reading/Buddy Reading Day. They had the opportunity to read with an older student or peer of the same age.
In addition, the week had a Read a Shirt Day, a visit from author Stephanie Insalaco and Mystery Reader Day, where as a surprise family members and teachers read their favorite books to a class.
According to Velez, the children particularly enjoyed dressing up as their favorite book character and meeting Pete the Cat.
“We wanted something fun. We wanted for them to enjoy it, to share their love for reading, for their love of characters and that’s really what it was this week,” Velez said.
