Students and Community Join Together for the 'Big Read'

Educators and administrators in the school district are continuously encouraging reading and writing and are now introducing a brand new reading project set to launch April 1 for the high school and the whole community.

The Big Read as it’s called is being launched by the and supported by the Hasbrouck Heights Public Library. It’s designed to bring high school students, parents, teachers and community members together to read and discuss a good book. There are contests for the students to participate in as well in order to win a brand new Barnes and Nobles Nook e-reader.

The book of choice is “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury. The book carries the rare distinction of being both a literary classic and a perennial best seller. The story deals with a world where its people are consumed into a world of techno-reality programming and books and history teachings are forbidden.

Suzanne Kos, who heads the literacy reform program at the high school, said, “We’re very excited to invite students, parents and teachers to share in the reading of a single novel during the month of April. We hope to start a long conversation about the wonderful novel, 'Fahrenheit 451' and perhaps even more importantly, about the simple joy of losing yourself in a book.”

The Big Read and blog initiative will run from April 1 to May 1 and will be followed by group events designed to get the students and the community together to celebrate this initiative. The high school is also setting up a student blog where they will be encouraged to write their thoughts and observations about the book, Kos said.

There will be a parent/teacher discussion in the high school media center on May 10 from 7 to 9 p.m. On May 17 there will be a student pizza party book club in the high school media center from 7 to 9 p.m. This will be followed by a movie screening in the high school auditorium on May 19 from 7 to 9 p.m.

Students have two changes to try to win the Nook e-reader through an essay contest and  a poster contest. Deadline for the essay contest is May 13 at noon and deadline for the post contest is May 2. See the PDF file attached to this story for full rules.

The school district has been introducing many initiatives to encourage reading and writing in its students with other methods such as the Scholastic which encourages students to improve their own Lexile scores, a measure of one’s reading level.