Lower School
New Student Summer 2017 Academic Resources
Dear new Lower School Parents:
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you and introduce myself. My name is Melissa Krone, and I am blessed to serve as the Lower School Academic Dean. Each summer, we provide our parents with academic resources to give students the opportunity to continue to sharpen their reading and math skills. As a new parent in the Lower School, I would like to provide you with some of those resources.
Below you will find the information for the summer reading programs that are available through the St. Tammany Parish Library and Barnes & Nobles. Research indicates that when students do not continue to read and practice math fluency over a three month period, "summer loss" can occur. We strongly recommend that our students participate in one of the reading programs available over the summer.
We are very excited to have you join the Northlake Christian Lower School. As always, if you should have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. I pray that you have a fantastic summer!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Krone, M.Ed.
Lower School Academic Dean
St. Tammany Parish Library’s Summer Reading Program
The St. Tammany Parish Public Library theme this year is On Your Mark, Get Set, Read! and is an OPTIONAL program for students who have completed K-3rd grade.
To get started, stop by your local library to pick up the summer reading packet and a summer event schedule. This program offers opportunities for students to earn prizes and certificates of achievement.
For a well-earned reward, the students should bring their certificates of achievement to school on either Open House, which is scheduled for Friday, August 5 from 9:00-11:00 A.M. or on the first day of school, August 8.
Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Program
The Barnes & Noble theme this year is Triathlon and is an OPTIONAL program for students who have completed K-3rd grade.
Reading is like a sport in at least one way - developing the skill to do it well takes practice and commitment.
To help our students stay in reading shape all summer long, the Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Triathlon has been designed with activities and challenges that they will find fun no matter what kind of books they like to read. Using the Triathlon Reading journal, which is provided HERE, the students may record any eight books of their choice and bring the completed journal to a Barnes & Noble store by August 1st. The student may choose a FREE reading adventure from the book list featured on the back of the journal.
For a well-earned reward, the students should bring their certificates of achievement to school on either Open House, which is scheduled for Friday, August 5 from 9:00-11:00 A.M. or on the first day of school, August 8.
Summer Skills Workbook
To avoid the "summer slide", parents who are considering having their children complete additional practice in math and language skills over the summer can order skill review workbooks through Summer Skills.
Over the course of the summer months, students can sharpen their academic skills in both math and language to prepare for the next grade level by completing a few pages a day for review.
Please click HERE to access the Summer Skills website to purchase a math or language skills workbook to be delivered directly to your home.
NOTE:
If you would like to preview these workbooks at any grade level, we have samples in the office.
DISCLAIMER:
As always, please note that parents must preview workbooks and activities for their children including all recommended book titles that can be found in the back of the language books in the reference section.
What are the benefits of Summer Reading?
Summer is a great time to catch up on reading about some of your favorite topics. It’s time to let your imagination take you on a journey. Reading for pleasure can help turn you into a life-long learner. For some, reading also can be a lot of fun! It can be a time to get cozy in an environment that is conducive to your reading. So grab your favorite snack, choose your spot, sit back, and enjoy the story.
What are the benefits?
Reading:
- is a skill that develops over time with practice
- builds comprehension skills and vocabulary
- opens discussions with friends and family about the book, the characters, new words learned, and the themes
- is important to do as a daily routine
- encourages you choose books according to interest and comfort level
- allows you to expands your interests; magazines can also be a great alternative if tailored to a particular interest
- exposes you to great literature; reading stories by great writers can help you become a better writer yourself
- develops problem solving skills
- improves scores on standardized tests
- is practical, so if you’re not into fluff, there are plenty of books that inform and educate
Success breeds success, so don’t let the summer slide catch you by surprise. Start your own book club with a group of your friends. Meet at your house, the pool, or the coffee shop. Embrace the experience and read, read, read!
Suggested List of Books
Boys
http://www.ithinkwecouldbefriends.com/2014/03/17/boy-reading-list-ages-9-12/
http://realfoodenthusiast.com/40-chapter-books-for-boys/#_a5y_p=2436531
Girls
http://www.ithinkwecouldbefriends.com/2014/02/26/book-list-ages-6-10/
http://realfoodenthusiast.com/40-chapter-books-for-girls/
Classic Children’s Books for Boys and Girls
Accelerated Reader (AR) Book Finder
Helping to Prevent Summer Loss
Here are a few excerpts from the article, Helping to Prevent Summer Reading Loss:
As parents, one of our major roles is to make sure that children set aside time every day to read - to read for pleasure, for information, for the vicarious thrill of living in an imaginary world.
Why is this so important?
- Children need to engage with books every day so they can maintain, and ideally strengthen, all the literacy skills they learned during the previous school year.
- The stakes for children who do not read over summer vacation are high. Substantial research on this topic shows it's usually the students who can least afford to lose ground as readers who are most likely to suffer from summer reading loss and fall far behind their peers.
- The few months of loss in reading skills compounds over the years; by the time children reach middle school, those who haven't read during the summers may have lost as much as two years worth of achievement.
Northlake Christian Lower School
Email: mkrone@northlakechristian.org
Website: www.northlakechristian.org
Location: 70104 Wolverine Drive, Covington, LA, United States
Phone: 985-635-0402