Monfredo: Reading Week In Our City – Week Of June 5.. Join In & Support Reading

Sunday, June 05, 2016

John Monfredo, GoLocalWorcester MINDSETTER™

Research continues to point out that reading regularly increases vocabulary and improves skills. In addition, developing your child’s reading and comprehension early on in their education also means that you are preparing them for the “real world. Reading opens many doors to help them become successful in life. If you can read you have open to you the world of knowledge for fluency in language and consequently communication skills are improved by reading.

Worcester: the City that Reads organization founded by my wife Anne-Marie and me eleven years ago has attempted to use every opportunity available to highlight the importance of literacy in this community. We need to put the importance of reading in the forefront of this community as often as possible. Thus, we have set aside the week of June 5th as “Reading in our City Week.” Activities for the week are as follows:

A proclamation has been read by Mayor Joseph Petty at the Worcester School Committee Meeting on June 2nd declaring the importance of the Give a Book program and designating the week of June 5th to the 11th as “Reading in Our City Week.”

During “Reading Week” the 40,000 books collected by “Worcester: the City that Reads” will be given out to Worcester Public School Students, Head Start, Rainbow Child Development, Plumley Village, Friendly House and other social organizations for summer reading. In elven years we have given out over 400,000 books in this city. In addition, the Worcester Public Schools will launch its “Summer Reading Kick off” and coordinate their efforts with the Worcester Public Library. The Office of Curriculum and Professional Development will be distributing the Summer Reading Lists with writing assignments to all Worcester Public School students. The list, writing assignments and model responses are posted on worcesterschool.org home page. The mandated summer reading program (reading of five books) will also give parents many ideas to assist their child in reading. It is essential that parents pay attention to the summer reading assignments and encourage their child to reading throughout the summer. Parents have to encourage their child to read at home each and every day during the summer months!

Worcester Public School nurses and Health Center nurses will be wearing “Read” buttons as a way of supporting the reading activities throughout the week. The message for everyone is – READ! In addition, our nurses will take the time during the week to read to the students. Adult Learning through HiSet Test and ESL Program will celebrate reading with literacy programs and Head Start will take books on the move to the homes of the children.

Dr. Matilde Castiel, Commissioner of Health and Human Services will be having her staff read to students as will UMass Memorial Health Care. The Girls’ Club of Worcester will engage their students Spelling B’s using the to 100 high frequency words that are essential for reading fluency and reading success and the girls will act out characters in books through pantomime and have the girls engage in a team vocabulary game. Rainbow Child Development will open a new internal children’s lending library and parents will be encourage to sign on to receive Worcester READS messages via text. In addition, during the week each book that is read will be recorded on a book shape and posted on the walls of the corridors. Also, The Belmont Zionist Church will be promoting with their “Yes, we Care” after school program during the week highlighting the importance of reading.

During Reading in Our City Week, the YWCA Central MA Early Education and Childcare Department will focus on encouraging reading at home. They will distribute books to take home, activities that encourage reading and writing, give out information on ways to read to children and ways to encourage a child to read. In addition, City Manager Edward Augustus will be visiting to read to the children.

Plumley Village will be setting up tables so as the children get off the bus from school their parents will be encouraged to sign them up for the “Catch the Reading Bug Program”, a seven week camp and literay program Monday to Thursday for 10:00 to 1:00 with a Kick Off on June 18th.

Mass Audubon’s Broad Meadow Brook Wildlife Sanctuary will be participating by welcoming all participants to enjoy their new Clem’s corner in the Visitor’s center, a place to relax with a good book on nature. In addition, guest may incorporate reading into an adventure on the trails of the sanctuary or go on a Worcester Reads scavenger hunt.

The African Educational Center will have their students reading comic books and graphic novels while taking photos in super hero costumes that they made themselves out of recycled materials. The Worcester Public Library, a key player in promoting reading in the community i will once again have many special programs going on during reading week as well as during the summer months and they encourage everyone to visit their website for more information.

John Monfredo, also stated that the Worcester Bravehearts baseball club, an organization that has continued to encourage literacy within the community, will have a Baseball in Education Day and give out tickets to home games to the children who completed their work in the “Reading Home Run Club sponsored by Worcester: the City that Reads.

The Worcester Education Collaborative will continue to work on literacy skills with parents and students in a number of schools during the week.

The week will cap off on June 11th with Edward Street Services sponsoring their annual “Day of Play Family Festival” at Elm Park from 11:00 to 4:00. Activities will include Literary Character “Pete the Cat”, a book reading of Pete the Cat Construction Destruction by James Dean, book related literacy project such as design your own playground, and a host of literacy activities. There will also be picnic blankets with books for families to enjoy together. Also,Peep and Chirp from WGBH’s Peep the Big Wide World will be on hand.

At the other end of Worcester on the same day, the Worcester Convoy of Hope will have their event from 11:00 to 4;00 at University Park. They hope to mobilize hundreds of area residents to serve and make a difference in their community. This is a collaborative effort to provide thousands of struggling people in our city with groceries, health services, community services, job fairs, family portraits, haircuts, prayer, and games and activities for children. All FREE of charge to each guest. Also, free books, courtesy of Worcester: the City that Reads will be given out.

We have the momentum going in our quest to highlight reading in our community for we have two mobiles ( Libby and Lilly) leading the way throughout the city this summer and we have Worcester: the City that Reads putting books into the hands of our children. It’s a great start but more needs to be done so please join us for this special week and continue to do what you can to make “Worcester: the City that Reads.”

Related Slideshow: Reading With Robin: Summer Reading 2016

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