Firstly I would also like to welcome our school community back to our final term for 2019.  I hope you all had fun making memories and enjoying being together as a family over the break.  Next week we have an opportunity to celebrate Book Week and spend precious time with our Grandparents and Friends in our school environment.  In light of this I have focused this week's Learning Together on fostering the love of reading in our students.

Reading is essential to just about everything in life – from cooking to driving to just getting through school. It is important to start at a young age and teach your child the value of reading so they will grow to practice it often and value their ability to do so.  It helps them develop stronger social skills, vocabulary and writing skills, and helps them to better understand and process more complex ideas. Reading also expands their ability to build knowledge overall - it is a life skill!

Look for new books and authors that your child may enjoy.

Organise an area dedicated to reading and writing tools.

Visit the library for story time and book recommendations.

Encourage your child to talk about what they are reading.

Talk to your child, and sprinkle interesting words into your conversation.

Offer a variety of books to read.

Read with your child every day.

Expand your home library to include magazines and nonfiction.

Ask questions if you're concerned about your child's development.

Decide to raise a reader!