PHOTOS BY JEANNE BERG

Every year Columbia Junior High School principal Jeff Nelson volunteers to help out with the Literacy Festival by being a guest reader. This year he came dressed as a leprechaun for St. Patrick’s Day.

Discovery Primary School celebrates reading with Literacy Festival

By Matt Nagle

Now in its sixth year, the annual Literacy Festival at Discovery Primary School has become an anticipated tradition. The school’s literary specialist, Jeanne Berg, said she was getting calls from volunteers before the festival was even announced this year, proving the popularity of this fun time when reading and writing are celebrated school-wide for every student, from pre-school to first grade.

Each year is a different theme. When Dr. Seuss turned 100 in 2004 Berg arranged for 100 guest readers to come and read to the students. One year the theme was “I-did-a-read,” a clever take on “Iditarod,” and Berg invited a sled dog racer to come down from Alaska with his Husky to visit with the children.

This year the theme for this program of the National Education Association is “Read Across America,” and Feb. 25 marked the kick-off day for Discovery’s five-week participation that culminates April 4 in two big Literacy Festival assemblies.

April 4 is also “Read Your Clothes Day” when the little readers wear actual words on their clothes that their friends can learn about. All kinds of events have been going on at Discovery during the festival, which includes a celebration of the students’ accomplishments this year in learning how to write their own stories and even illustrate them.

“For our school, our whole improvement plan revolves around getting kids to read,” Berg said. “At this level, a lot of our time goes into that.”

“Learning to read fluently with comprehension is hard work,” noted Discovery principal Julie Bartlett. “The Literacy Festival is one way we celebrate the growth students are making and motivate students to read more. It is wonderful!”

A book fair with the theme “Reading Road Trip” is going on right now where students can bring in a gently used book and trade it in for a different one. April 1-4 is “New Homes for Used Books Days,” and every first-grader will be given a brand new book made possible through funding by the national Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) program and local charitable groups like the Discovery PTA and Fife-Milton Kiwanis Club, among others.

Clifford the Big Red Dog is a very popular children’s book character and his birthday will be celebrated March 28. All the students will wear red and Bartlett will bring her big golden retriever Kasey to school to show the students her best manners and tricks. “We’ll read our favorite dog stories and leave a treat,” Bartlett said.

Guest readers have been visiting the school as well – district staff, families and community members alike have taken time from their day to sit before the wide-eyed little ones to read a story or talk about a true adventure they had. Columbia Junior High School principal Jeff Nelson came dressed as a leprechaun for a visit on St. Patrick’s Day and all the Fife School District principals will make an appearance before the festival ends. Officer Jeff Sterba with the Fife Police Department came by and sang to the children while playing his guitar. The mayors of Fife, Milton and Edgewood take part in the festival, as does Fife Municipal Court Judge Kevin Ringus.

It was a big day March 11 when a most special guest reader arrived at Discovery, Mike Gregoire, husband of Governor Christine Gregoire. A longtime advocate of literacy and no stranger to Fife schools, “First Mike,” as he’s known, read students “The True Story of The Three Little Pigs.” The children all received little gifts from him and he donated autographed books to the library.

The Literacy Festival ties in with two ongoing programs at Discovery, Partners in Print and Read and Lead. Partners in Print brings families together four evenings a school year to share activities designed to help the young students become confident readers. Read and Lead is Discovery’s home reading program sponsored by the PTA. Each year, approximately 98 percent of all first-grade students participate in this program. Students receive awards after every 100 minutes read and special recognition after each Read and Lead session if they have read 400 minutes. At the end of the year, students who have read 1,200 minutes attend a Read and Lead awards party.

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