Mar. 07, 2017
Every year the CBE collaborates with corporate and community partners to give students the gift of reading. On Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017, Cappy Smart School celebrated Literacy Day with some of these community partners.
Books for Kids is an initiative that puts books in the hands of children who may have limited access to reading materials in the home. Our students were fortunate enough to be the recipients of some of these books.
We invited members of our community to be special guest readers for our students. Guest readers included Trustee Pamela King, Constable Scott Hoard from the Calgary Police Service, 2 firefighters Carol Henke & Stacey from the Calgary Fire Department, Paul Kerber and Barb Hogan from CBE, Harpreet and Sarah from the Calgary Bridge Foundation, Ernesto Uraga from Servus Credit Union, our school nurse Sarah Ritten, Lauren Eagen our literacy support teacher, and our beloved facility operator Brian Ivany. Students from our LEAD classes were excellent ambassadors, and ensured that each of our guests were greeted, led through the program, and thanked.
Students enjoyed hearing our Principal Cynthia Smyth read her favourite book Jeremiah Learns to Read to the whole group in the gym, while the pictures of the book were projected on the screen for all to enjoy. After our guests read their favourite story to a small group of our students, our special guests gave each student in Division I a new book to take home from the Books for Kids Program.
Students in Kindergarten also received a stuffed animal, a donation from the Hitmen’s Teddy Bear Toss in addition to a book. Students and special guests enjoyed a snack and juice back in the gym, before saying goodbye for now! We held a Drop Everything And Read (DEAR) event throughout the day, where students and staff carried a book around while carrying on with their regular learning activities, waiting in anticipation for the signal to drop everything, and read their book for 15 minutes.
Students and staff at Cappy Smart are very grateful for the kind generosity of the Books for Kids and Calgary Hitmen Teddy Bear Toss donations.
Sponsors of the Books for Kids 2016 - 2017 program include:
- ConocoPhillips Canada
- Weigl Educational Publishers
- Grand & Toy
- Morgex Insurance
- MEG Energy
- Calgary Hitmen Hockey Club
- Southland Transportation
- United Library Services
- Sunterra Market
