Lower School students will hear at a special kick-off assembly today that this year’s reading challenge theme is, “Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!” Students are encouraged to read or listen to books during the challenge, and to celebrate their love of reading with a special display in the North Building Lobby. If the students complete the challenge, the entire school will be treated to ice cream! Parents, ask your students about this exciting project.
For the first time, Gaynor’s Middle School students will also be participating in a reading challenge beginning March 4. Students will read one (or more) book(s) outside of school in addition to completing a short (in-school) writing assignment that will encourage them to make personal connections with the text(s) they have read. To promote student engagement and motivate them to read more, we will be weaving in an incentive. For each book read by one of our students, Nickelodeon will donate a book to an under-resourced school or schools. After the completion of the challenge, we will provide each Gaynor student with a certificate recognizing their hard work and kindness. A visual representation of the number of books read will be posted in the South Building.
Along with the reading challenges, next week is also our yearly drive for Project CICERO to collect books for kids in under-resourced New York City schools. There will be designated drop-off containers in all lobbies starting Monday, March 4 and ending Thursday, March 7 at 8:30 am. Please donate new and gently used hardcover/paperback books for pre-school through high school students, including picture, early reader, reference, math/science, test prep, and fiction/nonfiction. For questions, please contact Dionne De Lancy, Gaynor’s librarian at ddelancy@stephengaynor.org.