"World Read Aloud Day"

While our Chappaqua students are reading regularly in and out of the classroom, World Read Aloud Day is a special opportunity for our students to enjoy a good book. During the week of February 1st, elementary school students celebrated by reading aloud together, partnered with other classes, and even with special guest readers from our #WeAreChappaqua community. School staff, community members, and even Greeley students joined our elementary students to read together. Students also spent time making bookmarks, storytelling, and at Grafflin, visiting the Book Swap featuring over 4,500 titles donated by students, families and staff.

"We celebrated the joy of literacy and reflected on how fortunate we are to have books readily available for students to increase their knowledge, inform their interests and journey to the world of imagination and adventure," said Tonya Wilson, Roaring Brook Principal. "We thank our building PTAs, Library-Media specialists, and numerous volunteers for organizing such wonderful opportunities for our students." (continued below)

We hope you will continue celebrating the joy of reading aloud with your family. Here are some ideas you can use at home:

• Have an older sibling read a book to a younger sibling.
• Call a relative on FaceTime or Zoom and have them read a book to your children or have your child read a book to them.
• Read a “Story in the Round”. Sit in a circle (or even around the dinner table) and take turns reading pages from a book.
• Launch a “Pop-up Poetry Café”. Join together in a comfy spot, maybe bring a snack or two, and invite each guest to read their favorite poem or short story aloud to the group.

Director of Literacy Carol Bartlik shared, “World Read Aloud Day is a great opportunity to highlight our students’ love of reading. I’m thankful to the community members and staff who helped to make this a special experience for our students.”

Established in 2007 by the non-profit organization LitWorld, the purpose of World Read Aloud Day is “to celebrate the power of words and create a community of readers taking action to show the world that the right to literacy belongs to all people.”