HALS Students Take Scholastic Challenge This Summer
By David Huck | Correspondent at June 14, 2024 | 9:00 am | Print
It’s no secret that when classes let out in June and students find themselves no longer at their desks, the knowledge they gained over the school year begins to slip away.
Experts sometimes refer to it as “brain drain” or “summer slide.” In the short weeks of summer, students can sometimes lose months worth of instruction and skills. But students at HALS Academy will be leaving the classroom behind this year with their bags a little heavier and hopefully a good reason to continue reading and writing.
As part of a program run through book distributor Scholastic, the school was awarded 75 packets of books. Each packet contains five books that are either fiction, nonfiction, or of a certain genre. Students will be able to select books to take home with them over the summer.
The books cover topics like the disaster of the Hindenburg, Ellis Island, and animals. Students will also get worksheets to take with them to get them thinking about their subjects. The total value of the books is $2,600.
To encourage summer reading, HALS Principal Leona Clerkin has asked students to set a goal for the number of books they plan to read. Over the summer, students will be encouraged to log onto Scholastic’s website to keep track of how many books they are reading.
“I just want kids to read over the summer,” Clerkin said. “Research shows kids need to read a minimum of five books over the summer to prevent summer slide.”
As part of a summer reading challenge, Scholastic challenged teachers, educators, and parents to discuss the need to stay engaged over the summer months on the company’s Facebook page by talking about how they planned to inspire students.
In less than 250 words, Clerkin described her plan to have students create a goal statement for their summer reading. Keeping students engaged in books can be difficult, as there is no library at the school and the last time there was a book fair there until recently was several years ago.
When classes begin again in September, a celebration will be had for the students who met or surpassed their reading goal, along with a celebration for those students who improve their performance levels on a test.
The materials, which are on subjects like math, social studies, science, health, and language arts, that the students will be given are aligned with new educational standards called Common Core, Scholastic says.
Some studies have shown that providing greater access to books in a student’s home would help to close the achievement gap. Another study found that students who read at least four books over the student performed better on reading tests than their peers who read one or no books.
A 2002 National Assessment of Educational Progress Report found that “students with well-designed libraries interact more with books, spend more time reading, demonstrate more positive attitudes toward reading, and exhibit higher levels of reading achievement.”
Winners for the contest were chosen based on academic alignment, community connectivity, student engagement, and innovation, according to a Scholastic spokeswoman.
