2018 Read-A-Thon
Our annual Summer Read-a-thon is here! The Read-a-thon is a great way for students to continue the daily habit of reading and learning over the summer, while raising funds for our school.
Official kick-off event: Wednesday, June 20th from 3:00-3:45pm
What is the event? A chance to sign-up and learn more about the Read-a-thon AND to hear TNS teachers and staff read from their favorite books.
This year, in addition to being a great way for students to maintain the learning and literacy they’ve achieved during the school year and help raise money for our school, we are starting Reading Clubs. Reading Clubs are a way to build school community over the summer and to inspire and motivate kids to read, read, read! We have a school-wide goal of reading at least 2,000 books this summer!
Here are the 3 things you need to do to participate:
1. Just sign up! Each student who is interested in participating fills out a form online. It is important that you do this first step, so we can get an estimate of how many students we should plan to give a prize to and to send you info on the Reading Clubs (see #2!).
2. Join a Reading Club! We’re organizing two to three reading clubs - one or two in Manhattan (Ottendorfer Library is one confirmed venue) and one in Brooklyn (meeting at the PLG Greenlight Bookstore). Join one or both! Each kid participating in the reading club would just need to come to a meeting with one book recommendation from the books they’ve read and then explain why they’re recommending the book. Then other kids can chime in or ask questions. After all of the kids get a chance to share a book, then the coordinator of the club will make their own recommendations, and then select one book to read together as a group. Yes, it’s summer and schedules can be crazy. Kids can come to any and all meetings that they are able to...or even just one. Dates to be confirmed!
3. Gather pledges during the summer, and read, read, read! At the beginning of summer vacation, students should send or give the pledge sheet to family and friends. All of the docs you will need will be sent in backpack mail on Monday and are linked below. Your child should keep track of both the books they read themselves and the books that were read to them. Yes, include Reading Club books! Yes, include bedtime stories! Yes, adults reading to their child (especially if the child cannot yet read) counts! Students of all ages can participate. Pledges can be made on a per book basis, or as a lump sum.
- Click here for a letter to send to Friends and Family.
- Click here for the Readathon Pledge Sheet.
- Click here for the Reading Log.
- Click here for the Readathon Letter to Collect Pledges.
4. During the summer, track your reading and collect your $. Kids can take ownership writing down each book they have read, but parents, please help your child write the titles if necessary. If you lose your reading log, or need extra pages, feel free to use any type of paper to write down the titles. Visit your local library for more fun books. (The New York Public Library has its own summer reading program, and you can participate in both TNS’s and the NYPL’s program, counting the same books for each!)
At the end of the summer vacation, please collect the pledge money from family and friends to bring in to school in September. The official end of the Read-a-thon will correlate to the official end of summer--around September 20th. Pledges may be paid in cash or check, made out to The Neighborhood School P.T.A., or pay via PayPal by going to this web page: http://tnsny.org/readathon.
Also, each participant will have the chance to win some gift certificates and other prizes from the Read-a-thon Raffle.
Finally, we will be setting up a table in the lobby all next week (June 18th - 22nd) at drop-off, so if you have any questions, or ideas, or would like to get more involved, please stop by!
HAPPY READING!
Amy and Jill
