October 6, 2008 - November 21, 2008
Redeemer students are being given the opportunity to reap a double blessing this fall. Our school-wide reading incentive program will be a fund raiser for a needy school in South Africa. The Augustine family is going to South Africa after Christmas. They will be visiting and working with a Christian preschool called Bonginkosi which means Praise the Lord in Zulu. This preschool provides schooling and two meals a day to needy children. They also provide food for their families.
We have decided to use our hard work in reading extra books as a way to earn money for the school. The Augustine’s will be able to take our gift and report back to us about how our giving helped the children there. If we raise $300.00, we will be able to sponsor a child at the school. Each student will have the opportunity to ask their families to sponsor them for each book that they read. We have set a goal of at least 500 books for the entire school. If we are able to meet this goal, we will reward ourselves with a school-wide dessert party at the end of the drive.
We will begin our program October 6, 2008 and students will be reading through November 21, 2008. Books assigned by the teacher to read in school DO NOT count for the incentive. These are extra books to read for fun. Books should be appropriate reading level for the student, but can be any enjoyable book that they choose to read. No one is required to participate, but it is fun to be part of what the entire school is doing. In order to attend the dessert party at the close of the reading drive, students will have had to meet the following criteria. (Reading more than that will earn more money for Bonginkosi, and help the school meet its goal for the party.)
Kindergarten and first graders must read 10 books along with their parents.
Second graders must read 18 books.
Third and fourth grades must read 5 books.
Fifth and sixth graders must read 3 books.
Seventh and eight graders must read 2 books.
Parents, you may go to bonginkosi.wordpress.com to find out more about the school. You know best how many books your student will read over the next six weeks. Please think about that as you choose one of the sponsor options listed below. We know that you have many charitable obligations at this time of year, and we do not want to make this program a burden on our families. We are hoping that by everyone making a small contribution, we can begin a relationship of giving with a school in need in another land.
Kindergarten and first graders: You may want to consider 25 cents per book.
Second Grade: You may want to consider 50 cents per book.
Third and Fourth Grade: You may want to consider 50 cents to $1.00 per book.
Fifth through Eighth Grade: You may want to consider $1.00 per book.
(All grade levels should consider a cap on their amount if they have speedy readers.)
