Tiny Grade 1 student Harry Zheng crouched over his Sonic Sega Series book and commented on the images with Grade 6 student Andy Frroku.
The pair was just one “car” in the reading train Britannia elementary organized to honour Family Literacy Day Monday morning.
Britannia’s nearly 200 students sat in two rows cross-legged on the hallway floor, facing a reading buddy.
The Grade 7 students sat with the kindergarten students while the Grade 6 students paired up with the Grade 1 kids. Each read a book of their choice to the other for five minutes before switching partners. The kindergarten students brought picture books.
Frroku said it was fun to read with Zheng, who arrived at Britannia last year with virtually no English speaking skills.
“I get to meet him,” Frroku said. “I get to know what he likes.”
Youth and family worker Louise Meinardus organized the event that also called for students to wear Canucks colours. Jean Rasmussen, founder and executive director of the Canuck Family Education Centre for adults that’s based out of Britannia secondary, has been working with the school and is going to help Britannia elementary’s Grade 4 to 7 leadership students attend a Canucks game.
Two Canucks jerseys were to be raffled off at the end of the day.
“So we wanted to do something really connected up with literacy because we are, in terms of our neighbourhood, just a little bit lower on the old proverbial totem pole than maybe some of the other schools in terms of literacy,” said Meinardus, who Monday sported a Canucks toque, scarf, poncho, jersey and button.
“We just wanted to really do something that just says look, we’re not all bad here. We’re not all about drugs, we’re not all about the things that happen locally in our neighbourhood.”
The Canucks-flavoured reading day follows other theme days Meinardus and her leadership students have organized to boost school spirit.
“We’re a pretty stressful school sometimes and it’s just really nice to be able to poke fun at each other,” Meinardus said. “[Stressful] in terms of some of the kids have behaviours that are quite strong and we just need to be able to have some fun release.”
On Crazy Hair Day a staffer wore multiple pencils poking out of her head, while on Pajama Day staff and students shuffled down the hallway in PJs, housecoats and slippers.
The school hoped the Family Literacy Day event would persuade students that reading is pleasurable and build positive relationships between staff, students and family members.
Naran Jasam, who turned 12 Monday, pointed to the text balloons in her Giants Beware book as she read to seven-year-old Keona Charles.
His mother, Debbie Cook, watched.
Cook attended to support her son.
“And to listen to him read because I’ve never heard him and I just thought this is amazing,” she said.
crossi@vancourier.com
twitter.com/Cheryl_Rossi
