Hello Huntley 158 families,
We are so excited to share with you that Huntley 158 will be offering the district’s first community-wide reading initiative, titled Raiders Read Together this summer. The event is modeled after the popular ‘One Book, One Community’ initiative and will engage our families and surrounding community in the importance of literacy and a love of reading both at school and at home. Each family unit from grades K-8 will receive a copy of our community book choice: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. This book will be coming home with the oldest student in your family (if that individual is in 8th grade or younger) on either Thursday, May 26 or Friday, May 27. If you have a high school only student who would like to participate, we encourage them to pick up a book at the front desk of the high school during finals week. Additionally, if your student will be absent from school on one of these, but would like to participate, you may pick up a copy in the front office of your child’s school beginning May 26.
Our district will also be partnering with voices all across our community to publish videos that narrate the story, allowing our families to read along with us chapter by chapter. We invite you to visit our district’s Facebook page @District158 to follow along via daily virtual read alouds beginning Monday, June 13 through Friday, July 22. We encourage you, as a family, to read one chapter every day Monday – Friday as you connect with leaders and friends throughout our community.
Huntley 158 will provide resources for parents to practice positive reading habits and literacy skills to use with their students over the summer months. Along with your family’s copy of the book, your student will be bringing home our community-wide calendar of all 30 chapters, a bookmark with helpful reading strategies and questions to ask throughout the story, and a way to access our Promoting Family Literacy video series at huntley158.org. These videos have been produced by our staff to share important tips and tools to aid in your student(s)’ reading journey at home and strengthen their skills outside of the classroom.
As we move through the book, we encourage our families to explore the community and support local businesses and organizations around the Huntley area, all while searching for your very own golden tickets. As you visit different locations throughout our community you might find posters promoting Raiders Read Together. Huntley 158 has worked to engage with multiple community partners who will have opportunities to collect golden tickets over the summer. If you spot a poster in a local business, restaurant or organization, ask to collect your golden ticket (limited to one per person)! Each student is invited to collect up to ten tickets that can be redeemed for raffle prizes at the start of the 2022-23 school year. Once you receive your ticket, answer the question printed on the back, bring it to your Back to School Open House and you’ll be entered for a chance to win a special prize on the first day of school!
Last but not least, join the community to celebrate the completion of our reading journey with a screening of the famed classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory at the “Movie in the Park” night in Parisek Park on Friday, July 22 hosted by the Huntley Public Library and the Village of Huntley. This event is free to the community and we encourage our students and families to attend and join in the celebration.
Raiders Read Together is developed to provide the ultimate, ‘Home, School, Community’ connection. We hope you find joy in this opportunity to engage together and stay connected as one community, all while building a love of literacy through the classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Happy reading!
Thank you,
Scott Rowe, Ed.D.
Superintendent
