Celebration of early literacy

Two Trent groups, Encouraging Young Readers Program and Trent Students for Literacy, will celebrate the "Magic of Reading" on Saturday, April 7th at the Great Hall, Champlain College.

The celebration acknowledges Trent students who have dedicated countless volunteer hours to help children in the Peterborough community improve their literacy skills.

"The number of Trent students who volunteer in the community is very impressive and we are delighted to publicly acknowledge that contribution," said Dr. Deborah Berrill, Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, Queen's University. She says that while many of the volunteers are part of the Queen's - Trent concurrent teacher education, many are simply interested in helping the community. "I'm not sure the community knows their commitment - many of our volunteers are involved because they want to contribute something to the Peterborough community."

The event will also pay tribute to children from both local school boards who participated in the two programs.

The Encouraging Young Readers Program is a collaborative project between the Queen's - Trent concurrent teacher education program and the Learning Disabilities Association of Peterborough. Thirty-eight Trent students volunteer for 45 minutes, twice a week, to help Grade 2 students with their reading. The university works very closely with the resource and classroom teachers and the tutors receive intensive training.

Trent Students for Literacy is part of a national literacy program sponsored by Frontier College. This year 50 Trent volunteers provided one-on-one tutoring to Peterborough children who need help with reading, writing and spelling. Forty-five volunteers conducted after school and weekend Reading Circles.

The celebration will take place from 12:45 - 2:45 p.m. and members of the Trent community are welcome.