Elementary Reading Night
By Michelle Glosser
January 26, 2010
On January 14th, 2010 the Elementary Teachers held Pekin's second annual Family Reading Night for all of the elementary students and their families. The families were invited to attend the reading night that was held in the Media Center at 6:00 p.m. Once the evening began, the families were separated by grade levels. The kindergarten, first, and second grade families remained in the Media Center, while the third, fourth, and fifth grade families moved into the computer lab. Everyone came back together at the end of the evening for refreshments.
The kindergarten, first, and second grade parents were welcomed to spend some quality time with their child making a game that they were able to take home with them at the end of the evening. The parents and their children worked together to make the games and then had time to play the game with each other. They all seemed to enjoy having the time together as there was a lot of visiting and an abundance of laughter in the room.
The third, fourth, and fifth grade parents were introduced to a new technology program that the students have begun to use this year called Skills Iowa. Jane Lichtenstein, the project leader of Skills Iowa, explained to the parents how the web-based program is set up in two parts. One part is for the teachers to use at school called the Assessment Center. This allows teachers to assess students in all academic areas. The second part of the program is called Skills Tutor. This is the part of the program that students may work on at home or at school. This is academic practice that is programmed by the teachers and is self-directed for learning to take place at anytime from anywhere that Internet access is available. To visit the web site go to http://ac.corek12.com.
We had a nice number of families attend our second annual Family Reading Night, and hope that more of you will be able to share in the fun next time!
Michelle Glossier and Lorna Scholtus
