Paget Farm students say ‘Hats off to Reading’

The importance of reading skills for a child’s success cannot be emphasized enough. This shared opinion of teachers, parents and students led to the successful completion of the ‘Hats off to Reading’ week at the Paget Farm Government School.{{more}}

The week of activities ran through Monday, January 31, to Friday, February 4, 2011. During the week there were reading competitions between the various houses, with yellow house emerging as champions. Students were responsible for carrying out the morning assemblies daily and particpated eagerly in different reading games. The parents weren’t left out as there was a day set aside for the parents to read to the students.

The activity-filled week climaxed with a ‘Hats off to Reading’ march from the Paget Farm bus shed to the school grounds. Students, parents and teachers caught the attention of the public with their creatively designed hats. Celebrations continued with hat competitions in different categories. There were also class presentations from Grade K up to Grade 6, in the form of phonetic chants, drama, story-reading and more.

Present at this momentous occasion was Zoe Cordice, representative of the Epitoma Foundation, who encouraged the students to continue to read to widen their horizons. President of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA), Sonia Joseph, urged the parents also to get more involved in reading and to stir up the interest in their kids.

Devon Ollivierre, Headteacher of the Paget Farm Government School, in his address, said that he had witnessed the importance of reading skills on a daily basis. According to Ollivierre, having worked extensively with children within the 5-11 year old age group, the importance of reading skills filters into all aspects of school and subject areas such as Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, Mathematics, and also social skills.

Ollivierre encouraged students to give themselves the opportunity to succeed by reading. He also urged the parents to give their children the best chance of excelling in school and to be sure to provide them with a strong reading basis and to encourage reading at home.