A Community Celebration of Literacy

We traditionally send students to school so they can learn to read, write and do arithmetic. But rarely do we stop and examine “What is the real value of reading?” Of course, reading enables our students to grow up and pursue careers in their chosen fields of interest. However, here at Parker we believe that reading has more intrinsic value than as just a means to an end. Reading enriches our students’ lives in the here and now by developing their language skills, exposing them to new worlds and ideas, and letting their imaginations run wild. That is why, every year, we chose to celebrate our students’ love of reading with our annual Read Across America Day.

Read Across America Day is a true celebration of literacy. Our morning starts with lively greetings all around and much excitement about what costumes each child is wearing. Students delight in seeing the clever and artful costumes that their peers have pulled together. The joy becomes intergenerational as our youngest students join with their older buddies, and together we all participate in a costume parade! We were also treated to a sneak peak of our upcoming musical “Frozen” as all our 8th graders dressed in costume for the day, making a tremendous splash at our parade.

Throughout the day, various classes participate in their own, unique celebrations of literacy. Our PreK class, Kindergarten, and 1st & 2nd graders each had the joy of meeting with author Sylvie Kantorovitz, who read to their classes, talked to them about what it means to be an author, and signed books. 3rd-8th graders, meanwhile, enjoyed a visit with Kat Fajardo, an illustrator, author, graphic designer, AND former student of our SEL Director, Katie Thornton! Kat shared their experiences growing up as a Honduran in Columbia, and their journey of discovery as an autistic adult. They talked about following their passion for fine arts into comics and story-telling, and then led our students through the actual process of creating a storyboard and comic.

Following these morning visits, our middle schoolers were then enjoyed a second in-person author visit with award-winning artist and educator Ira Marcks. Ira spoke with our 5th-8th graders specifically about the writing process, with particular emphasis on the importance of collaboration and recognizing how many people it actually takes to make a book. Ira also taught our students about Shape Language, and then used that premise to lead them through hands-on drawing exercises. Finally, we ended our day as a whole school by gathering together for a robust musical story-telling performance from the Berkshire Theater Group!!!

No matter the age or the grade, community-wide celebrations like these unite our students in pursuit, passion, and play. Everyone will be ready for a good bedtime story tonight!