LiteracyNight

Hazelwood Elementary School is filled with great readers! Students have been making reading goals since the beginning of the year and tracking their progress. Once their goals are achieved, students create new goals making them better and better readers as the school year progresses.

Over the last several weeks in February students and staff have been celebrating the POWER OF READING. The snow did not dampen the Reading Olympics that started at the beginning of February. During the Olympics students tried to reach the gold medal level by completing several activities relating to reading such as, reading for longer than their assigned homework, rewriting a novel beginning, giving a book talk to fellow students, reading a biography book on a famous person, or reading poetry or folktales.

At our bi-weekly Leadership celebration held on Fridays, we also celebrated how important reading is in our lives as students, teachers, and staff members. Hazelwood Elementary Battle of the Books students were recognized as “Leaders in Reading” and teachers shared with students how reading has helped them throughout their lives.

Our celebration of reading culminated with Literacy night on Thursday, February 20th. There were several activities that made this night a success. First, parents were able to gain strategies to help their child become a better reader. Several Standards from the Common Core English Language Arts curriculum were explained to parents. Handouts were separated out by Kindergarten-2nd grade and then 3rd to 5th grade and were then given to parents that told the definition of the Standard and how they can help their child at home to master this Standard.

While parents were learning about strategies on reading, students were being entertained in the Library by local authors reading their own published books or other student favorites. In attendance, were authors, Dawn Cusick, Karla Wood, Anna Browning, and, Phil Cauley. They read several stories that truly amused the students. Also, our AIG students, under the direction of teacher, Mary Ward, also performed a play based on “Bringing the rain to Kapiti Plain” by Verna Aardema.

Before leaving, students could go to the “READBOX” in the lobby to pick out a book to take home. This station was similar to the “REDBOX”, but instead of having to return the DVD, students could keep the book. Hot chocolate and cookies ended the evening. While enjoying hot chocolate and reading books with their parents, a book raffle was held as well.

Our community of readers is growing every day at Hazelwood Elementary School – where Readers are Leaders!