HOULTON, Maine — The Houlton Rotary Club has always supported family literacy in the community. The club has an active Literacy Committee, which includes representatives from the local elementary schools, Cary Library, and Houlton Higher Education Center.
These partner institutions have led a Moosestompers reading event for the past three years; passed out books at Houlton’s annual Light Parade; participated in Reading Nights at the schools; and assisted with the library and Houlton Center summer reading programs.
The month of February and March brings an extra literacy focus for the Houlton Rotary Club. The kick-off begins during Moosestompers, when fellow Rotarians and local elementary teachers take part in the annual “Read to ME Challenge.”
Children participate by quietly reading to themselves, reading to another person, or being read to for at least 15 minutes. During this year’s Moosestompers’ event, more than 50 children finished the challenge.
Once complete, the child received a free book to take home and a ticket for a free hot chocolate to enjoy at the Millar Civic Center during the open skate session. Pictures of this event are posted to the Houlton Rotary Facebook page with the #ReadtoME tag. The inclusion of the hashtag links to a Maine Department of Education public site for tracking the campaign. All are encouraged to complete this challenge through March, by reading for the 15 minutes, posting a photo with the hashtag and challenging friends and family to participate.
To continue the literacy focus, Jane Torres and the Literacy Committee hosted Janet Murakami, literacy coach for both Houlton Elementary and Southside schools, as well as Lauren Fitzpatrick, a second grade teacher at HES.
Murakami talked about the importance of reading to children, starting at a young age, as well as encouraging and supporting young children to read 15-20 minutes every day. She also spoke about the positive and negative effects digital technology is having on our youth.
Fitzpatrick informed Rotarians about a project her class began last year, called “Read Across our Community.” She was joined by second graders, Athena Shaw and Savanah Crawford, who both helped provide the details of the project.
Crawford explained that each student made a list of whom they wanted to reach out to, while Shaw explained that the letter would ask the individual to send them back a picture of themselves holding their favorite book. The pictures are then displayed on a bulletin board at the school. The students not only learn about different book titles, but also come to know many members of our community and the various careers of our community members.
Crawford and Shaw also indicated how exciting it is to get back a letter from everyone they write to.
Murakami finished the presentation by thanking those Rotarians who take their time to come in and read to a class or to an individual student during the school year. She encourages more to do so during the first week of March, a week that ends marking Dr. Suess’s birthday.
