Literacy Day at Stony Hill School

Dear Board of Directors;

It is with great pleasure that I write to you. Recently, Stony Hill Elementary School experienced its first Literacy Day Celebration. This day involved the celebration of literacy in some way, shape, or form for the entire school. Six professionals were hired to come in from other parts of New England and share their love of reading, writing, speaking, and story telling with the children. Volunteers (parents and some district administrators) came in to share picture books with all of the classes (Two women from our cafeteria staff read to a second grade classroom and blew away all other readers!). Parents came to assist teachers with "Crowd Control", however, everyone was able to enjoy the presentation.A breakfast and luncheon were provided for the presenters, faculty, and staff at which all professionals were able to gather and talk about the day. Channel 22 News and the Wilbraham-Hampden Times came to do stories on Literacy Day. It was simply amazing to have the school and everyone in it completely in "literacy mode".

At one point during one ofthe presentations, I looked around at the children and teachers' faces: all smiles. These smiles were made possible because of the funding of a W.H.A.T. grant. The money I ensured for this grant was spent completely on Literacy Day activities and at my discretion. The entire day was planned ahead of time for administrators, teachers, and students. This was purposefully done so everyone could simply enjoy the day and be both professionally and personally enriched by the presenters.

Attached to this letter you will find copies of all scheduled events/workshops, itemized costs (including some changes in spending), staff evaluations, student evaluations, and photographs. This is for your records, as some spending changes were made, but only to enhance the overall quality of Literacy Day.

There is no doubt in my mind that Literacy Day was a huge success. The day went exactly as I had proposed to W.H.A.T. back in October 2003: to engage children in a school-wide celebration of literacy that will enrich and motivate those involved. And I also must mention that the Student Ambassadors, children selected from my homeroom to escort the presenters around during the day, represented our school district impeccably. Todd Kosel, Jamie Haddad, Robert Knight, Artur Wysoczanski, Marissa Burke, Matthew Nataloni, Mary Jackman, and Kathleen Laliberte especially made the day wonderful. All of the presenters mentioned how well they had been taken care of and how professionally our school ran this event. "The next time I present at a school, I'm going to have them call Stony Hill because you really know how to do this kind of thing elegantly" was said by Judith Black, one of the presenters.

In closing, I believe the presenters, children, faculty, staff, administration, and volunteers felt a sense of excitement when it came to some aspect of literacy. As a teacher, I wish I could bottle this excitement, grow it into passion for the written and spoken word, and plant it into every teacher, student, parent, administrator anyone who will have it. Imagine the garden of life-long lovers of literacy we would have.

On behalf of those involved with the first annual Literacy Day Celebration at Stony Hill Elementary School and from the bottom ofmy heart, thank you. It is organizations like W.H.A.T. that foster and promote enriching activities that make a difference in the educational experiences of children. Please, continue to do this as long as you can and know that I personally, will sing your praises. Feel free to contact me with any additional concerns or questions.

Respectfully submitted,
Amy R. DeSmith
Grade four educator