AUGUST 2015
E L E M E N TA R Y S C H O O L N E W S & E V E N T S
Summer Reading Roundup
Sunon Jones (Grade 1) enjoys reading "The Little House" at a cafe. Sunon was one of the approximately 75 people who participated in the APIS Summer Reading Program this year.
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hey read everywhere — cafes, airports, beaches, the front porch, doctors’ waiting rooms, church, buses, and airplanes. They read on vacation at Jeju Island and at home in Seoul; they read in Australia, England, and the United States. Students, parents, faculty, and staff scattered across the globe for vacations and travel during the long summer break from classes. But many of them made a point to keep up their reading skills (and just enjoy reading) those weeks as they participated in the annual APIS Summer Reading Program. Participants in the program were asked to aim for at least 1,000 minutes of reading over the summer, which is about 30 minutes a day for four days a week. Participating in the program was particularly interactive this year, as Principal Bruce Knox had the idea for readers to share what and where they were reading using a APIS Reading Program Facebook page. Submitted photos showed all the varied places people enjoyed reading and included book recommendations and reviews for other readers. “The value of having the APIS Summer Reading Program is to instill the love of reading all year round including our long summer vacation,” said Judy Park, third grade teacher and organizer of this year’s reading program. “Research also indicates that students who don't read can experience a slump and fall back up to even two reading levels. From my personal experience, I have seen students who moved up to a higher reading level because they kept reading during summer break and continued to grow as readers.” The approximately 75 participants who met the reading program challenge will be acknowledged and given a program T-shirt at an upcoming chapel. “Many students read way more than 1,000 minutes and I'm very proud of them,” Mrs. Park said.
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