Reading for Fun…
As I visited Year 3 this week, I had a group of students who quickly left their chairs to tell me excitedly that they had reached their Accelerated Reading target for the term and hoped to triple their targets. It was so lovely to see the smiles on their faces as they told me how much they enjoyed reading. When I looked around the classroom and saw the rest of the class focused and enjoying reading various genres, from fictional books such as the ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ and ‘Pony Pals’ to some non-fiction books about cars and Australian animals, I was reminded of how much joy reading can bring.
At Northern Christian School, we aspire to have a reading culture where our students enjoy and have fun reading. Reading is good! It is God’s plan that people should read well. God saw to it that His message was written in the Bible so people could read it and know with certainty what He said. We should read and study the Bible because it is God’s spoken word to us.
We read in 2 Timothy 3:16-17,
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.
As Joseph P. Bean highlights, “We must contemplate the import of ignoring the printed word. If you cannot read, you can do only what you are told.”
Although not part of the Australian Curriculum, from Kinder to Year 6, every class at Northern has a dedicated time to encourage reading. Studies have shown that reading for pleasure in schools is linked to better academic results. Laura Scholes, an Associate Professor at Australia Catholic University, highlights the importance of having a ‘Reading for Pleasure Agenda’ in schools noting there is value in developing student’s enjoyment of reading long-term because it correlates with their reading outcomes and all of their learning across the curriculum as they progress through their schooling. As I have reflected on this study and how we approach reading for pleasure at Northern, I am thankful that our teachers share their love and passion for reading with the students. Our recent Library renovation allowed us to create a welcoming and enjoyable reading space. We understand the struggle to finish a book or even start a book when a student is not interested or challenged by a certain book. Therefore, we are continually updating our library collection, enabling students to read what they are interested in and will enjoy. I still remember my parents buying several books about beekeeping when my younger brother was learning to read; these were the only books he was interested in and were an integral component of his reading journey.
Throughout the year, we have several initiatives that will promote our school being a community of readers, with many opportunities for you to join in with your children. We are very excited to be hosting our first Reading Café on Thursday, 30 March, from 8.30am – 9.00am as we celebrate the opening of our refurbished Library! Families are warmly invited to come and enjoy a FREE hot chocolate and start the school day reading a book together in the Library. We hope that the Reading Café will continue to nurture our students' love for reading and provide an excellent opportunity for our families to come together.
I am always profoundly encouraged by hearing about the different traditions, habits, and routines that families adopt to enjoy reading together at home. I encourage you all to reflect on how you are promoting reading for enjoyment and fun as a family. I would love to hear any ideas and initiatives that you have that you may think other families may find helpful when it comes to reading for fun including reading the Word of God, which is full of great adventures! I hope to share these throughout the year. Let us pray that we will be a transformational Christian learning community of readers that enjoy reading and learning more about God and His world.
Bethany Armstrong - Principal
