Liam Thomas Quinnel and Seren Caza Defferrared
Heritage Elementary
The staff of Heritage elementary school in Huntingdon organized a spooky literacy night for students and their families called “Fall into Reading” on October 24.
The event was arranged in partnership with the New Frontiers School Board Community Learning Centre, and featured three local authors, including two who are staff members at Heritage and one who works for the NFSB. The authors were Ashley Jewer, who read her book which is Anabelle Lee’s Anxiety; Méla Casa Pugh, who read her book Wild Warrior; and Chuck Halliday who read from a selection of his books in the Band of Beavers series, accompanied by his 10-year-old son Jacob, who recently wrote a book while in the hospital.
“We had an amazing time together at Literacy Night, and I couldn’t be prouder of my son and the book he created,” said Halliday. “Encouraging kids and parents to be actively involved in promoting literacy really does take creativity, and events like this show just how engaging and enjoyable that journey can be,” he added, while thanking the Heritage team for the interactive and fun-filled evening.
Along with the local authors, there were spooky reading tents with Halloween-themed books, a snack booth, sensory bins, pumpkin decorating, and several other stations with different activities encouraging literacy.
“There’s something for everybody when it comes to literacy,” said Emily Langevin, whose idea it was to hold the event. “The night is not about teaching reading, but it’s about encouraging it and seeing how fun it can be,” she added, noting one of the most important takeaways was for families to recognize they can be doing these types of activities to encourage literacy and reading at home.
Principal James Furey said the school was very pleased to host this event. “Literacy is the foundation for everything moving forward in life if you want to be successful,” he said. “An event like this is so important, as it provides a strong foundation from the youngest age all the way up,” he added, saying it shows parents the importance of reading to their children.
“It was fun,” said one participant in Grade 4, who helped to greet people and who worked at the snack booth and bookmark activity to earn her Lady Baden Powell award as a Girl Guide. “Everything was free, especially the books. Every child got to pick out two stories to take home,” she added.
“We learned that stories will help with our later careers and how much fun reading can be. It was inspiring.”
* This article was written by students at Heritage Elementary School as part of a partnership with the New Frontiers School Board.