Pupils at Sunnyside Primary School in Athlone were thrilled to explore the school’s new reading adventure room last week.
The school celebrated International Literacy Day, on Thursday September 8, by opening the “Tree of Words” themed room sponsored by an asset-management company.
In the centre of the room is a tree with words hanging from the branches, and the pupils used the words to build sentences.
Natalie Roos, executive director of Living Through Learning, a non-profit organisation, said: “This is very different and not the normal reading room activity as this is very interactive. I am really happy to be here and love working with Sunnyside.”
Principal Nathaniel Brache said that knowing there was now a fun, quiet place for his pupils to read made him happy.
“Our children are the future of Sunnyside, and they are really overjoyed. When I feel down, I step into this room. It gives one a sense of education. It’s amazing to see a child going from not being able to sound to eventually building a sentence. This is more than appreciated. It is such a beautiful room and something very special.”
Deputy principal Leatetia Ogilvie said that over the past ten years the school had benefited greatly from its partnership with Living Through Learning, the Ladies of Love feeding scheme, and the asset-management company.
The pupils who had first been part of the literacy programmes were well into their adult careers by now, she said.
“This programme has really been about promoting language and literacy at our school. The books donated to the school help with phonics and word building and then sentence and vocabulary building. These books touch the heart, body, and soul of pupils.”