JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Before schools shut down, News4Jax went to Julington Creek Elementary School for reading awareness month. Ms. Trubey’s first-grade class was the big winner of a pizza party, storytime and a $100 gift certificate for the classroom to use at Scholastic Books.
I had the honor to deliver the good news, and it was a blast. It took just a few seconds for these first graders to put it together, but when they did, they knew the reader who had submitted the winning video to News4Jax, Ashley Layton.
“I said why I like reading and what I can do to read and go on new adventures and how my teacher really likes reading and needs new books,” says Layton.
After two and even three slices of pizza, the kids were ready to read. Ms. Trubey says there’s not a book they don’t like.
I picked three of my kids’ favorites, "Salt in his shoes, “Ada Twist Scientist” and “Princess hair.” They were all big hits. But storytime isn’t just fun it’s crucial to learning.
“The fact that parents read to children. It's the number one indicator of how a child will do in the classroom. It's unbelievable to see the impact in children who have that and those who don't,” says Trubey.
The prize Trubey was most excited about will buy a lot of books. It’s a hundred dollar gift certificate to Scholastic Books that will go a long way.
“Hopefully that will foster that love of reading for them,” says Trubey.