On Friday, March 5, 2010, Owia Government School held its Reading Extravaganza, with the theme “Hats off to Reading –Share the Gift”. The event began with a march though the village, and culminated at the school.{{more}} The activities featured everything from storytelling, book-readings, poetry and dramatisation, to the displays of students’ work. There were presentations from all classes, including children of the Early Childhood Education Centre.

Literacy Coordinator Wendy Child highlighted the fact that the importance of reading is not limited to Language Arts, but is also noticeable in other subject areas. The importance of reading skills for school success is immense. She also noted that reading is the ability to draw useful information from any book or text. She stated that for the most part, kindergarten through Second Grade focus more on learning to read and reading for enjoyment, while by Third Grade and onwards the importance of reading becomes critical to one’s academic success.

Headteacher Elva Springer stressed on the importance of reading at home to the parents who were present.  She emphasized that reading in the home is essential to a child, fostering a love and appreciation for all types of text. Springer challenged parents to be good role models for their children, stating that: “If your children see you using your reading skills to learn new things or to find information, they are more likely to gain an appreciation for reading and its usefulness. She also called on teachers to equip students with the requisite strategies for decoding new words and monitoring their reading.