Step into the halls of Rockdale Elementary and take a minute to quietly take in all that you see and all that you hear. The walls are engulfed in a sea of writing and talk floats like waves, some strong and intense, others gentle and calm, throughout the classrooms and into the hallways. The energy is high and the excitement blows through the wings of the school like warm southerly winds. Rockdale Elementary is literacy rich, and our students soak it in like the sun.
Literacy is the ability to listen, speak, read, write and think. At RES, we pour the very foundation of these skills, strong and solid, able to support the five pillars of literacy—phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. Our teachers and staff envelop our students in language, developing in them a love of reading, writing and conversation. How blessed are we, that our parents, our board and our community value and support these gifts of literacy?
In April, the Rockdale ISD School Board unanimously passed a tuition-free pre-kindergarten program. In essence, our Board is shouting from the rooftop its belief that all four-year-olds in our community deserve the opportunity to develop literacy, language and math skills, as well as develop their brains through structure, curiosity and social interaction. High quality pre-kindergarten substantially increases a child’s chances of succeeding in school and in life.
If you have a child who will be four by Sept. 1, please give him/her the gift of a strong foundation in reading, writing and talking by picking up a registration packet from either the Elementary or Intermediate school.
Our community also advocates for building a strong foundation in literacy. Last week, St. John’s UMC Men’s Group descended upon our elementary classrooms to enjoy a read aloud with our students. Did you know “read-alouds” model fluency and expressive reading, and encourage listeners to construct meaning and make connections? Before they left, Mr. Puente honored the school with a $500 donation to our library. The campus was able to put a little smile on his face when we dedicated the donation to strengthening our multilingual book selection.
Take a few minutes every day to read with your children, to listen to your students and to encourage writing. The gift of literacy is precious, and we—parents, teachers and community— all have a responsibility to add the ingredients that develop the formula of a strong foundation.
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