Author Archives: atozliteracy

You + Fundraiser = Yearly Goals Met

Time is ticking and ticket sales have been way down for Trivia Night.

Saturday, February 21st is coming fast and we’re worried about our annual A to Z fundraiser.

Got a party of four? Great! We’d love to have you come out and enjoy the evening.  Party of six? Sure! We’ve got a spot for you, too.

This is our one chance to raise enough money to meet our yearly goals which include: shipping books to impoverished schools, providing funds to cover the cost of school lunch, and helping to support teacher salaries at a small school in Zambia.

Please head to the website to purchase your tickets and we look forward to seeing you Saturday night at the Park Place in Crystal Lake. www.atozliteracy.org

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And the Answer Is…Trivia Night!

Cabin Fever is settling in. It’s February and we all need a night out with friends.
Sure, we love our Midwestern winters, but we also recognize that shut-in feeling of not having seen many folks due to the colder temps.
It’s time to do something. Something fun.
It’s time to laugh, gather together, and support a fantastic non-profit.
It’s time for A to Z Trivia Night.
Head to the website for tickets – www.atozliteracy.org

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Freshened up for the New Year

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With 2015 almost here, A to Z Literacy Movement is excited to share our updated website, www.atozliteracy.org, with you. A huge thank you goes out to Stephanie Brown, one of the A to Z’s founders, for helping us to create a more friendly and informative site for folks to visit. The new site looks fantastic, and we think you will definitely enjoy clicking around to see some new pictures in the photo gallery, find ways to donate time, and read about who we help in Zambia as well as here in McHenry County.

As always, we will continue to publish the A to Z blog for you to enjoy, but look forward to sharing current events on the home page more consistently and hope supporters share the site with friends and family.

The Gift of Books and Reading

By Betty Trummel

As I took a look at my tiny class Christmas tree last week, I saw the gift of books and reading for my 30 students. Each package under the tree contained a bright, shiny, new chapter book.

I thought about so many children around the world who don’t have new books or any books at all. In many places literacy is not the reality of everyday life.

The work we do as part of A to Z Literacy Movement is on a small scale, but it is mighty. I’m thinking back to our trip to Zambia this past June, and how exciting it was to see gently used and new books in the hands of the children and teachers at the Village of Hope and at Shine Zambia Reading Academy.

We’ve given the gift of books and reading to so many, just as I have in my 36 years of teaching. How can you help give the gift of literacy this holiday season?

A Year in Review

art table         Beatrice

DSC_0540         hands

Dear A to Z supporters,

“It’s not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving.” Mother Theresa

Endless love endured this year for the A to Z Literacy Movement as creativity for fundraising increased.  Through Trivia Night, The Arlington Heights Scholastic Book Drive, Betty Trummel’s Open House, The Lundahl/Bernotas Walkathon, The Bernotas Dodgeball Tournament, The Savers Clutter Collection, The Alwood Elementary First Grade Lemonade Stand, The Louise White Elementary School CrAtoZy Sock Day, The AmazonSmile donation, The Christmas Drive at Good Shepherd Hospital, The Central High School Interact Club Spirit Week, The Central High School National Honor’s Society donation, Grants from the Crystal Lake Dawnbreaker Rotary Club, and donations from you, we were able to gather over $22,000.  This total far exceeded our expectations, which in turn, allowed us to achieve and exceed our goals.

Getting books into hands of impoverished children is our primary goal; with our funds, book drives and partnerships with other non-profit organizations we were able to send sixty six boxes of books: twelve boxes to the Zambia Rotary Club Nkwazi, twelve boxes to Accra, Ghana for an after school program, eighteen boxes of picture books and chapter books to School of Hope in Zambia, six boxes to the Jubliee Center in Zambia, and eighteen boxes of math textbooks to School of Hope in Zambia.

Our trip to Africa this year achieved our goal to professionally develop teachers.  We were able to spend quality time in two schools utilizing the expertise of four teachers: Shine Academy and All Kids Can Learn International.  In addition to providing professional development, we were also able to fund two teachers’ salaries and pay for approximately six months of school lunch at Shine Academy.  Furthermore, we were able to award a scholarship to Jonathan for his yearly tuition and a bicycle to cut his four hour walking commute to school in half.

We have also increased our local outreach to meet the needs of those in our own community.  We were able to donate one hundred string bags filled with picture books to Kiwanas; hundreds of books to the Immanual Lutheran Clinic; hundreds of books to School Distrcit 47 Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee; and hundreds of books and story time to Garden Quarter.

Because of you and your extraordinary love of giving, we were able to give to so many this year.  Thank you for all you have done to help us reach our goals. Without you and your love of giving, this would never have been possible.
Warmly,

A to Z Literacy Movement

Summer Reading

By Wendy Lasswell

little house

As long as I can remember summer reading has been about reading book series. I think it started with the “Little House” books. I actually brought one of those books with me to a slumber party and read a few chapters when the other girls were asleep. There was the “Flowers in the Attic” series.  I remember begging my mom to take me to B. Dalton to buy the next book in the series…..I really can’t believe she let me read those! More recently there was Harry Potter, The Twilight series and The Hunger Games.

And then there was the summer I strayed from book collections and read the epic: “The Thorn Birds”. Oh, what a book that was! BTW, did you know that Colleen McCullough just published a book this August? “Bittersweet” It’s on my “to read” list.

I read some really great books this summer, although none were part of any series. But what I must confess is that mostly this summer I have been counting down the days until August 26th.  That is the day “The Long Way Home” by Louise Penny will be released. This is the 10th book in the series….I cannot express how much I love these books and read them over and over. These are classic who-done-it mysteries set in the small Quebec village of Three Pines, and oh how I want to live there; even if the murder per capita is outrageous! I want to be best friends with Clara the yet- to- be discovered artist and Myrna the retired psychologist who now owns the new and used book store on the village square. I want to go to The Bistro to hang out with Gabri and his partner Olivier and drink café au lait next to the crackling fireplace.  I think you get the idea….. 

So don’t be worried if I don’t answer your emails or reply to any text messages on the 26th…..I’ll be reading!

2 MORE DAYS!

long way home

 

 

3-2-1

By Mal Keenan
One reading activity I love to use in the classroom is 3-2-1. This quick formative assessment for determining importance works well as an exit slip in whole group and small group instruction.
Students are asked to write down three important facts/ideas, two key words, and one memorable sentence directly from the text.
3-2-1 was new to the students at School of Hope in Zambia. The 8th graders did a fantastic job reading a short article about Nelson Mandela and then a few pairs were brave enough to present to the rest of the class.

 

 

If You Know It, Sing Along

If You Know It, Sing Along

Tell Me About Debate Club