Happy Holidays! We want to thank you for making our year.
In this difficult and isolating year Wednesday and Friday mornings have been bright spots in my week. Seeing your faces and that of the brilliant minds classroom has been so sweet. You are a source of hope to me and each other. Watching as you have patience and kindness with 2nd graders or share what you know about Zoom or Libby with another volunteer has been fortifying to me.
Thanks go to Ms. Deb for valuing us and making it happen. Thank you for sharing your platform and Brilliant Minds Class with us. We no doubt have made extra work for you in a season of so much extra work but you have worked so closely and responsively with us to make it happen.
Thanks to Becca for having the vision and the gumption in the Spring to begin trying to keep volunteers and buddies reading together and move us to a remote model and platform, working with Ms. Deb, parents and all of you volunteers.
Thanks to Julie for her belief in us and her foresight and wisdom to decide that we would be pursuing our remote program for the entirety of the school year no matter what DPS does. I wonder Julie if you ever imagined this reading program happening this way when you started out? Partners-in-Literacy’s core is so strong that it transcends everything we thought it was.
Thank you volunteers! There is no program without you. I’m sure for some of you there were moments where missing the in-person connection or learning a new technology felt too overwhelming to continue on as a volunteer. Yet here we are. 17 pairs of reading buddies this week and most weeks now. A whole classroom of students for whom reading means individual attention and personalized reading support. Let me tell you this has been a tough year for elementary school kids. Maybe what you give in this program doesn’t seem like all that much with all the hard things in the world right now, but let me tell you it is. On behalf of the kids and their families, I thank you!
You are here and able to come along with us because you are readers and readers are lifelong learners, resilient, they can cope, problem solve and empathize. Little by little you are sharing that gift with these second graders and I am so grateful. Thank you again everyone for making this happen!
May you all have some happy and restful holidays. Read some good books, reflect on how far this adventure has come and look forward to some more excellent reading times. When we see you again on January 8th the days will be getting longer again, and we will be reading remotely with all of you. Check your e-mail that week for the links and any updates. Otherwise we’ll see you then.
Becca and Sarah