Since September, a volunteer from the Rotary Club of Yorkton has visited Dr. Brass School each Wednesday to fit in some one-on-one reading time with Grade 1 and 2 kids who need a little extra help.
About half a dozen club members now take turns participating in what the club and the school have dubbed the "Rad Rotary Reading Program."
"One of Rotary's main objectives is to work with youth, so there was a common alliance of goals," says Linda Turta, Rotary vice president and one of the reading volunteers.
"It's meant to support the teacher's efforts. It's to give the children some extra time to read. It's to show the children the importance of reading-to have other adults that they can read with to develop a love for that skill. And certainly at an early age, that's something that we want to see developed."
The idea was first suggested by Dr. Brass principal Tami Hall after meeting with the Rotary Club to discuss ways the members could help the school.
"Some of these kids, they don't always have someone at home to read with them," Hall explains. Besides providing reading practice, the program gives the children a chance to interact with adults who take an interest in their lives from outside of their usual circle of care.
"They also form a relationship, and they know that there are caring adults out there in the world."
The children who participate are excited to meet the volunteers each week, says the principal.
"They love that connection with the Rotary readers. It is making a big difference, and we just wish we had more."
The volunteers particularly enjoy watching the children's skills develop from week to week.
"We're trying very hard to instill a passion for reading, as is the school," says Turta. "So when you start to see them get excited about the stories and master words that they hadn't before, it is really personally rewarding."
Volunteers interested in reading with children or contributing in other ways are invited to contact the school.
.png;w=120;h=80;mode=crop)
