News Release
Homer CCSD 33C
Goodings Grove Luther J. Schilling William E. Young William J. Butler
Hadley Middle Homer Jr. High
Contact: Charla Brautigam, Communications/Public Relations Manager
cbrautigam@homerschools.org | 708-226-7628
For Immediate Release:
May 31, 2016
Knowledge is Power: Paralympics World Champion Lex Gillette encourages HUH students to join Summer Reading Olympics
Homer Junior High School is teaming up with Paralympics World Champion Lex Gillette to encourage students to “read like a champion.”
“Reading is really important in our lives,” Gillette, a blind track and field star, tells students in a video from the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif. “It’s something that you should try to get in a little bit every single day because knowledge is very powerful.”
HJH Summer Reading Olympics with Lex Gillette
Teachers are sharing the video with students this week — the final week of school — and encouraging them to join the school’s Summer Reading Program. Those who read at least two novels and then complete the required reading log at http://goo.gl/forms/c74cPS1Llv will be entered in a raffle to win a Kindle Fire.
“We hope students use some of their free time this summer to engage in reading by choosing books they will enjoy,” said Homer Junior High School English Language Arts teacher Shannon Schroeder. “We’re hoping to instill a love of reading for pleasure, and summer is a great time to escape into a good book.”
Parents will receive a letter explaining the program when they receive their child’s report card this week.
They will also receive a list of recommended books — some of which are Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Award nominees.
“The recommendation list is a jumping off point,” Principal Troy Mitchell tells parents in the letter. “Students are encouraged to explore any novel of interest to them, even if it is not included on the recommendation list.”
To help promote the program, the school enlisted Gillette, the current world record holder in the long jump, to share his own passion for reading.
“Reading is very important,” he said, encouraging students to get their reading in and join the Summer Reading Olympics.
“You can read like a champion,” he said.
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