September means a lot of things to kids and adults alike.
Back to school, impending holidays, farewell to stifling hot weather. It also means the arrival of a Rutherford County tradition.
Reading in the Schools Day and Reading Rally are coming up in a matter of weeks, two days when thousands of community members come out for one common purpose: literacy.
City, county and private schools are preparing for Reading in the Schools Day on Sept. 23. More than 1,000 classrooms and 25,000 students will have volunteer readers visiting that Friday. Everyone in the community is encouraged to volunteer to read—it takes only a few minutes out of a busy day but can mean so much. Visit readtosucceed.org to sign-up at your favorite local school.
“Reading in the Schools day gives over 1,000 volunteers the opportunity to go into our schools and spend some time with the children, teachers, and staff,” Read To Succeed Director Lisa Mitchell said. “Not only do volunteers read to the children, but they get to see for themselves some of the great things that are going on in our city, county, and private schools.”
Reading in the Schools Day is, of course, about reading and about highlighting the importance of literacy, but it’s also about bringing the community into its schools, about connecting the community with the classroom.
The next day, local libraries will pull out all the stops for the Read To Succeed Reading Rally, which takes place at Linebaugh Library in Murfreesboro, Smyrna Library and La Vergne Library.
“The Reading Rally is a perfect follow-up to Reading in the Schools Day, for parents to spend an hour or two with their kids at their local library celebrating literacy and the wonderful resources available,” Mitchell said.
The annual Reading Rallies bring attention to the services local libraries provide for the community. Because it’s not just about books anymore.
This midday festival to celebrate the written word is open to the public with no charge and held in three locations simultaneously to allow easy access to all Rutherford County residents. The point is to bring attention to what the libraries have to offer—books, classes, computer labs, books on CDs, DVDs and great, helpful staff. But the rallies also offer moon jumps, storytellers, musicians, magicians, healthy snacks, door prizes and storybook characters come-to-life.
Visitors to Linebaugh and La Vergne can expect an appearance from beloved children’s character the Ladybug Girl. Bad Kitty and Max the Bunny will also be joining the festivities at Linebaugh in Murfreesboro, and Snowbird and the Chick-fil-A cow will be at Smyrna. MP |
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