Dear Trinity Families and Friends,
In my schooling days the three R’s were Reading, Writing and Arithmetic (only one of which actually begins with an R). At Trinity the three R’s are Rigor, Risk-taking and Reading. In previous Monday Messages I focused on Rigor and Risk-taking and today I will focus on Reading.
Only?great minds?can read this? This is weird, but interesting!? fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too? Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.? i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno’t mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!
Reading, as defined by Wikipedia, is “a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols in order to construct or derive meaning. It is a means of language acquisition of communication, and of sharing information and ideas. Like all language, it is a complex interaction between the text and the reader which is shaped by the reader’s prior knowledge, experiences, attitude, and language community which is culturally and socially situated. The reading process requires continuous practice, development, and refinement.” Readers use a variety of reading strategies to assist with decoding (to translate symbols into sounds or visual representations of speech and comprehension). Readers may use semantics, syntax and/or context clues to identify the meaning of unknown words. Readers integrate the words they have read into their existing framework of knowledge or schema. The key is exposure and repetition to the written word.
Trinity will continue to expose your children to the written word and we will continue to keep the school at the forefront with rigorous academics. We must always look ahead, educating our students to meet the challenges of an ever changing world. We as adults can guide our children with Rigor and Risk-taking by instilling the third R: Reading. Reading is still the best preparation for an unknown future. If one does not learn to read then one will not read to learn.
Please join us this Friday, October 13th beginning at 5:00 p.m. for Family Night followed by the Luau. Beginning School through Grade 5 will share their classroom with you and K through 5 will receive passports and proceed to share with you the various places they visit throughout the school week. Middle school students will host these special area classrooms and give out stamps and stickers at each stop. Lastly, after talking to the parents at the PTO Executive Meeting we will not be having the Fall Carnival. There were many reasons associated with this decision with the most underlining issue being that many of the parents present are just plain tired and want other parent/volunteers to step forward with such events.
With warm regards,
Mark Ravelli / Head of School
Trinity Episcopal School
720 Tremont Street Galveston, TX 77550
409.765.9391 www.tesgalv.org