Post by d204mom on May 23, 2008 9:11:09 GMT -6
Cowlishaw School welcomes special guests for its Family Reading Night
By Bob Smith | Daily Herald Staff
Published: 5/23/2008 12:13 AM
Stephen Daeschner, it turns out, has some lion in him.
There the Indian Prairie Unit District 204 superintendent was, reading "Library Lion" to a bunch of Cowlishaw Elementary School students, when suddenly … he … started … roaring.
Not a quiet, demur, man-in-a-coat-and-tie roar. Oh, no, a real lion-like roar that made the kids' eyes go wide and launched a few parents who might have gotten a little too relaxed.
Daeschner had not pre-read the book, but admits he "can get a little animated" when in front of a group.
So there he was, cruising along around page four or five, when he saw his chance.
"I dropped my voice and then I let out this giant roar," he said. "The kids all jumped, but guess who jumped the most? The parents!"
"For the students to see their superintendent roaring, it was just a whole different side to him," fourth-grade teacher Robin Halicki said.
Giving kids a fresh look at books, reading and, yes, even readers, was the whole point of the school's recent Family Reading Night for fourth- and fifth-graders and their parents.
Cowlishaw teachers regularly promote literacy and frequently read aloud to their classes, Halicki said, but when they were looking for a new spring program they thought it might be fun to bring in some new voices to reinforce those lessons.
So they invited Daeschner and Naperville Mayor George Pradel to appear, along with police officers, firefighters, the principals of Hill and Granger middle schools, Cowlishaw alumni, a storyteller from Naperville Public Library and even members of the Waubonsie Valley High School football team.
They promoted the program with posters, fliers and e-mails and wound up attracting about 125 kids -- and their parents -- who each received a new book, got to participate in raffles for other prizes, and collected information about summer reading programs at area libraries.
The effort was funded with money from a No Child Left Behind Title 1 grant and a grant from the Jeannine Nicarico Memorial Fund for Literacy.
Organizers set aside four classrooms, with readers assigned to each so students could rotate to hear different stories from different guests.
"We tried to pick a variety of people from our community who would enjoy reading to our students and who our students would really want to hear read," Halicki said.
The ultimate aim, she said, was to introduce students to new types of books and gently hammer home a simple message: You don't have to be in school to sit down and spend a few minutes reading.
"We want them to know what's out there and how exciting reading is," Halicki said. "We want them to know that this continues outside the school doors, too."
Halicki said she was most pleased by the 15 or 20 Waubonsie football players who took turns reading to the youngsters and seemed to have a strong impact on the sports-crazy boys in their audience.
One group of players read "Superdog: The Heart of a Hero." When they reached the end, one of the players looked at the youngsters and told them, "It just goes to show you if you work hard, you can get what you want."
It was unrehearsed, Halicki said, but it proved to be the perfect message coming from the perfect messenger.
Pradel, of course, was a hit, too, giving his dramatic take on "Read All About It!" by Laura and Jenna Bush. The mayor told students how excited he was to meet the Bush women when they came to Naperville to promote the book a short while back, and how proud he was to be able to read it at Cowlishaw.
"He really brought that book to life," Halicki said.
The success of the inaugural Family Reading Night already has teachers talking about how they can turn it into an annual program and make it even better next year.
"We hope the excitement for reading carries over into the summer for our students," Halicki said, "and hopefully for the rest of their lives."
By Bob Smith | Daily Herald Staff
Published: 5/23/2008 12:13 AM
Stephen Daeschner, it turns out, has some lion in him.
There the Indian Prairie Unit District 204 superintendent was, reading "Library Lion" to a bunch of Cowlishaw Elementary School students, when suddenly … he … started … roaring.
Not a quiet, demur, man-in-a-coat-and-tie roar. Oh, no, a real lion-like roar that made the kids' eyes go wide and launched a few parents who might have gotten a little too relaxed.
Daeschner had not pre-read the book, but admits he "can get a little animated" when in front of a group.
So there he was, cruising along around page four or five, when he saw his chance.
"I dropped my voice and then I let out this giant roar," he said. "The kids all jumped, but guess who jumped the most? The parents!"
"For the students to see their superintendent roaring, it was just a whole different side to him," fourth-grade teacher Robin Halicki said.
Giving kids a fresh look at books, reading and, yes, even readers, was the whole point of the school's recent Family Reading Night for fourth- and fifth-graders and their parents.
Cowlishaw teachers regularly promote literacy and frequently read aloud to their classes, Halicki said, but when they were looking for a new spring program they thought it might be fun to bring in some new voices to reinforce those lessons.
So they invited Daeschner and Naperville Mayor George Pradel to appear, along with police officers, firefighters, the principals of Hill and Granger middle schools, Cowlishaw alumni, a storyteller from Naperville Public Library and even members of the Waubonsie Valley High School football team.
They promoted the program with posters, fliers and e-mails and wound up attracting about 125 kids -- and their parents -- who each received a new book, got to participate in raffles for other prizes, and collected information about summer reading programs at area libraries.
The effort was funded with money from a No Child Left Behind Title 1 grant and a grant from the Jeannine Nicarico Memorial Fund for Literacy.
Organizers set aside four classrooms, with readers assigned to each so students could rotate to hear different stories from different guests.
"We tried to pick a variety of people from our community who would enjoy reading to our students and who our students would really want to hear read," Halicki said.
The ultimate aim, she said, was to introduce students to new types of books and gently hammer home a simple message: You don't have to be in school to sit down and spend a few minutes reading.
"We want them to know what's out there and how exciting reading is," Halicki said. "We want them to know that this continues outside the school doors, too."
Halicki said she was most pleased by the 15 or 20 Waubonsie football players who took turns reading to the youngsters and seemed to have a strong impact on the sports-crazy boys in their audience.
One group of players read "Superdog: The Heart of a Hero." When they reached the end, one of the players looked at the youngsters and told them, "It just goes to show you if you work hard, you can get what you want."
It was unrehearsed, Halicki said, but it proved to be the perfect message coming from the perfect messenger.
Pradel, of course, was a hit, too, giving his dramatic take on "Read All About It!" by Laura and Jenna Bush. The mayor told students how excited he was to meet the Bush women when they came to Naperville to promote the book a short while back, and how proud he was to be able to read it at Cowlishaw.
"He really brought that book to life," Halicki said.
The success of the inaugural Family Reading Night already has teachers talking about how they can turn it into an annual program and make it even better next year.
"We hope the excitement for reading carries over into the summer for our students," Halicki said, "and hopefully for the rest of their lives."
