Over 10,000 elementary school students are expected to hear the story “Not Norman” on Thursday, October 22.
The readings – which will take place in classes at Coweta County School System’s 19 elementary school – are a part of the 10th anniversary of Read for the Record.
This year’s book is “Not Norman: A Goldfish Story”, written by Kelly Bennett and illustrated by Noah Jones. Read for the Record is organized by JumpStart as a global campaign to generate public support for early learning and building children’s love of reading. The event is expected to involve nearly 2.4 million children on Thursday.
“All of our elementary schools are participating, and classrooms all have special visitors coming to read the story,” said Paula Baker, Coweta County School System’s Language Arts Curriculum Specialist. “Our school system was recognized by JumpStart last year as having one of the largest participation rates for the program, so we hope to see that again.”
Coweta County participates each year in the event, which is intended to support literacy and promote early childhood education.
Last year’s book was “Bunny Cakes,” by Rosemary Wells. Across the county, teachers, parents and other guest readers came to classrooms to share the story about rabbits making birthday cakes for their grandmother.
Special events this year include Teacher Pipeline students (high school teacher cadet students) who are reading to many classes, and students at middle schools who will visit and serve as guest readers and research literacy in their own classrooms.
Several “Celebrity Readers” for the Coweta County School System have read the story for students, including school system principals are posted on the school system’s website (www.cowetaschools.org, ‘Video Links’) reading the story. Celebrity readers include principals Betty Robinson, Christi Hildebrand, Aaron Corley and Kevin Jones, and Curriculum Director Karen Barker.
Coweta County Schools Press Release
