Dear Parents of Sibylla Kiddle School,
I recently gave an interview to LiveWire Calgary as part of the Loonies for Literacy Campaign being conducted by Education Matters. The reporter asked me how important literacy is for learning. My propensity to use analogies kicked in and I immediately replied with a question, asking how important is water for a swimmer? In its most basic form, literacy is the ability to read and write. Alberta Education dives deeper suggesting that literacy is “the ability, confidence and willingness to engage with language to acquire, construct and communicate meaning in all aspects of daily living.” I would define literacy as the ability to interact with language in order to be an effective communicator and learner.
Regardless, of how literacy is defined, we know that it goes hand in hand with learning. At a young age, one of the best ways to form the foundations of literacy is to spend as much time as possible interacting with books. Before your child can read, read to them. When they develop some basic reading skills, read with them. Once they become a proficient reader, continue to read to them and have them read to you. Reading will open up conversations. It will allow you to share a laugh or maybe even a tear. It will simply allow you to discover a world that you never thought was possible.
As we continue to grow our collection of books in the learning commons (school library), we want to thank those of you who have contributed to the Loonies for Literacy campaign. Every dollar you donate will be spent on books for our school library. As a bonus, every dollar you donate will be matched by a corporate donor to support school libraries in our city who do not have the same access to financial resources as many in our community do. The deadline for donations is the end of the month. You can go to the links provided or you can simply text LITERACYSKS to 30333. Thank you for your on-going support of the work we are doing at Sibylla Kiddle School, specifically in the area of literacy.
Sincerely, Brad Emery, Principal
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