Bayshore Public School received a Literacy Fund Grant of $40,000 from the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation. The school was selected from hundreds of applications in recognition of their ongoing work to champion literacy in the school community.
On May 31, the school held an assembly to announce the news, which was met with cheers of excitement from the students. The grant will be used to purchase new books for the school library that reflect students’ diverse identities, interests, stories, abilities, and cultures.
Bayshore Public School is home to a diverse student community. It welcomes many families who are newcomers to Canada and refugees, and students speak more than 30 different languages. They demonstrate a desire for learning, curiosity about the world around them, and eagerness to share their rich cultures and traditions with one another.
This grant was made possible by student voice. Students participated in the application, sharing their vision for the types of reading materials they wanted to see in the library. In the future, a team of students from different grades will work with the school’s Librarian to provide input on what books to purchase. The school will collaborate with the Pinecrest Indigo bookstore to bring these new materials to the shelves.
These books will support Bayshore Public School’s work in interventions that support student literacy. The school was an early adopter of the recommendations of the Right to Read inquiry. Teachers use screening to identify students who need support and apply structured literacy approaches to develop reading skills.
Principal May Tannous grade 5-6 teacher Deanna Burns shared their reflections about the grant on CBC All in a Day.
Here’s what students had to say about the news:
_“This is amazing. We definitely need more books in our school library and this will be a great opportunity for kids that will be coming to Bayshore to grow their love of reading.” – Abdullah S., grade 6
“It was so cool to see the big cheque for 40,000 and I can’t wait to see books in different languages in Arabic, Farsi, Pashto and more!” – Bishr A., grade 3
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.png "“This is amazing. We definitely need more books in our school library and this will be a great opportunity for kids that will be coming to Bayshore to grow their love of reading.” – Abdullah S., grade 6 “It was so cool to see the big cheque for 40,000 and I can’t wait to see books in different languages in Arabic, Farsi, Pashto and more!” – Bishr A., grade 3")