Board to salute literacy initiative

Riverview School in Rainy River and McCrosson-Tovell School in Bergland will be recognized at tonight’s regular meeting of the Rainy River District School Board for their new literacy initiative this year entitled “We Can Read.”
The program set a goal of having the students at both schools read a total of 25,000 books or chapters from the beginning of February until the end of June.
Each month, classes reported their progress at month-end assemblies on the book-o-meter.
“While we got off to a shaky start in February and March, reading doubled in April and students didn’t look back after that,” Riverview and McCrosson-Tovell principal Kendall Olsen wrote in his report to the board.
“They blew the top off the book-o-meter by the end of May,” he added.
As of June 19, the students had read more than 30,000 books or chapters.
Students were treated to a barbecue last Wednesday (June 21) as a reward for exceeding their goal.
The program also has been credited with raising the level of interest in reading among boys. The schools dedicated their learning resources budget to purchasing books and magazines of interest to males.
“Many boys can now be found reading magazines . . . and fiction and non-fiction books about everything from animals and sports to natural disasters,” Olsen wrote in his report.
Staff at both schools also have learned about boys and literacy through the program.
Four students from the two schools will read excerpts from their favourite books at tonight’s meeting.
Also tonight, the public school board will
•review the most recent results of the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test;
•hear a report on the Summer Institute and Summer Programs for teachers; and
•hear a report on what repairs and upgrades will be made to the board’s facilities over the summer.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the boardroom at Robert Moore School.
The board’s next meeting will be held Sept. 5.