Reading is breathing for the mind!
The students of Sri Venkateshwar International School, Sector 18, Dwarka stepped into the magical world of words during the Reading Week celebrated in the school in the last week of November. Happy readers could be found every where from buses taking them to school, in the corridors, near the canteen, in the green areas and of course in the library and classrooms; standing in a corner immersed in a dream created by the book in hand.
The little ones of Pre-School and Pre-Primary were introduced to the joys of reading through picture reading and read-aloud sessions to enhance their verbal- linguistic skills.
The students of grades I and II gorged upon the spread of fiction, fairy tales and fables interspersed with fantasy and folklore. The week long reading festival was kicked off with a workshop at One Up Library on November 25, 2018 attended by our Lead Learner Mrs. Nita Arora accompanied with Ms. Nidhi Dhingra, on Understanding Reading and Redesigning Libraries as Learning Spaces. Class Libraries and Read Aloud sessions were further spiced up with 10*2 Activity to hone meta-thinking and triggering visualization of the young ones. The students filled in their wish lists of books. ‘Drop Everything And Read’ (DEAR) sessions were also conducted throughout the week.
The students of classes III to V also enjoyed making book-marks, book covers and pieces of art on characters of books which was a colourful expression of their imagination. They maintained Reading Logs throughout the week diligently, vying of the title of ‘Most Read Student’. The students of classes VI to VIII and IX to XII were the ones enjoying a potpourri of genres and exchanging books among each other.
The entire school observed the activity ‘One Nation Reading Together’ an Annual event of Scholastic Inc. with whom we have a Reading Promotion tie up too on November 30, 2018. This saw all the people inside the school reading between 12:00 noon to 12:30 pm. This half an hour was thoroughly enjoyed by the students, teachers, the admin. staff and even the support staff. All were found reading a book of their choice enthusiastically. This half an hour was almost a meditative exercise and the silence that descended in the school was therapeutic.
The week culminated with the book release of Dr. Harshali Singh in a glittering ceremony on the Cultural Day Programme showcasing the stage adaptation of yet another book ‘Beauty and the Beast’ on December 1, 2018.
The week-long endeavour to inculcate good reading habits among Sri VIS students is a vision of the Lead Learner Mrs. Nita Arora which has gained momentum and does not seem to be stopping anytime soon! The students have taken to reading like a fish takes to water- eagerly, as if their life depends on it! It is heart warming to see the coming generation appreciating the pleasures of reading and enjoying the writings of eminent authors; one book at a time.
