Literacy celebration to take place Jan. 25

The Rainy River District School Board once again is hosting a literacy celebration at schools across the district next week in an effort to partner with parents in their children’s education.
“Families Learning Together” will be held at four district schools on Thursday, Jan. 25 from 4:30-8 p.m., offering workshops for parents and their children.
J.W. Walker (Fort Frances), Donald Young School (Emo), Riverview (Rainy River), and North Star (Atikokan) all are participating.
“It should be a really great evening,” said Heather Campbell, superintendent of education for the board. “It’s exciting.”
The sessions will begin at each school with an introductory workshop for everyone in attendance, featuring a keynote speaker.
At Walker School, that speaker will be Ranier, Mn. resident Mary Casanova, an award-winning author of children’s books such as “One Dog Canoe” and “Moose Tracks.”
Following the keynote speaker, parents and their kids will be invited to choose from a variety of workshops—each geared to a specific age group.
Workshops will be available for parents of children from pre-school through Grade 8.
“We try to offer a variety of different age levels,” Campbell said.
For example, a workshop on critical literacy will be available for parents of kids at the intermediate level while a developmental reading assessment workshop will be offered to parents of primary students.
Cynthia Donald, a teacher at Robert Moore School, will offer a workshop entitled “Fun, Fitness, and Phonics,” where she will talk about how to incorporate an active lifestyle with literacy.
“Parents thinking of enrolling their child in JK next year should come out,” Campbell noted.
Parents are encouraged to bring along their children to the workshops—some will require the kids to participate.
Like last year’s event, which was held in April, community partners such as the Northwestern Health Unit will have displays offering information and pamphlets about different issues around literacy and education.
There also will be door prizes and giveaways, as well as free babysitting and a free supper at each school.
Campbell noted the meal is one of the main differences from last year’s event—which was held on a Saturday afternoon with refreshments only.
By holding the event on a Thursday evening before a Friday P.A. day, organizers are hoping for a better turnout.
“Rainy River had the biggest attendance last year,” Campbell said, noting their event featured a reading by a local author.
The important thing is to get parents to learn how they can contribute to their child’s education at home.
“Parents are our partners. We really want to work with them,” Campbell stressed.