Celebrating Literacy Week in Our Schools
Literacy Week was a wonderful celebration of reading and writing across all qathet School District elementary schools. Throughout the week, students engaged in a variety of fun, meaningful, and creative activities that fostered a love of literacy and supported environmental initiatives. Whether it was taking part in a used book swap or "Crazy Sock Day," bringing a stuffy or action figure to read to during "Buddy Reading," wearing words on clothing, or dressing up as their favourite storybook characters, the week was filled with excitement.
Read some of the highlights and the unique ways Literacy Week came to life at each school below:
Literacy Week at James Thomson Elementary began with an outdoor story walk, where students enjoyed books provided by the Public Library while taking in the beauty of the land, and ended with Family Day Friday featuring games and breakfast in the school gym!
Over at Westview Elementary, the EcoTeam, led by teacher Courtney Ross, hosted a used book swap to support both Literacy Week and waste reduction efforts. The Grade 6 students dedicated significant time and effort to making the event a success, staying after school and even exchanging recess time to ensure its success. All students were encouraged to bring in previously read books from home and exchange them for new-to-them books. This initiative emphasized the importance of “upcycling” while inspiring and educating students about environmental responsibility.
Edgehill Elementary dedicated a day of Literacy Week to reading local stories and celebrating Indigenous culture. All students and staff members were invited to wear orange and enjoy reading an Indigenous story in their classrooms. Students were also encouraged to share their favourite books all week long by posting them on their classroom’s bulletin boards!
Students at Kelly Creek Community School celebrated Literacy Week with a special “Go Green Day,” combining outdoor reading with zero-waste initiatives. Students enjoyed reading their favourite books in beautiful green spaces, including the forest behind the school and the community garden. They also had a lot of fun dressing up as their favourite book characters - see below!
Henderson Elementary’s students had a blast with activities such as flashlight reading in the dark and participating in a puzzle challenge! Teachers wore emoji-themed shirts representing different books, and students had to work together to guess the titles. It was a fun and interactive way to engage with literature!
Partners In Education hosted a series of engaging livestream events through social media featuring read-alouds of Roald Dahl stories, poetry, and graphic novels. One of the days was even dedicated to exploring how stories are adapted across different media, including books, cartoons, and movies. PIE also created online book lists through collaborative bulletin boards featuring PIE staff favourites in various categories, such as picture books, math books, chapter books, and classic novels, to name a few!
Students at Texada Elementary in Grades 3-7 hosted a Reading Fair, inviting all Texada families to explore a variety of engaging books! On the same day, parents of students in Grades K-2 were warmly welcomed to join their children in the cozy library and enjoy reading to each other.
This past week emphasized the importance of literacy as the foundation for learning and brought school communities together to celebrate the power of words. Thank you to all the teachers and staff members who participated in all these different activities and made learning so much fun for our students! A big thank you as well to all the parents and caregivers who joined in throughout the week to support their students and made Literacy Week extra special!
Throughout the week, we were also sharing book recommendations from the Teacher-Librarians in our schools through social media. If you happened to miss them, please see below:
