When returning to school this past September, St. Joseph School chose to place its Mystery Reader Program on hiatus due to the pandemic and necessary safety precautions. The program encouraged anyone with a close relationship to a student – parent, grandparent, sibling, or friend – to get more involved in the classroom by reading aloud their favorite book. Since the Mystery Reader Program began in 2016, many family members have surprised their students and shared their favorite books and life experiences as well. The students love having someone special in their classrooms! Therefore, as the 2021 National Read Across America Day approached, the school administration and teaching staff were determined to find a way to incorporate the guest readers back into their lessons. Fortunately, due to a successful GivingTuesday fundraising event, the school recently purchased ten new 65” Promethean interactive displays and installed one in each classroom. The new technology was the perfect solution for inviting guests back into the classrooms! At first glance, the Promethean displays look like large screen televisions. However, they give the teachers the capability of doing much more than showing videos. During lessons, teachers can interact with shared screens increasing student collaboration and participation. Also, the Promethean displays allow for easy access to Google Classroom – which is utilized at St. Joseph School to help students and teachers organize their work and improve communication. So, as most businesses have done during the COVID-19 crisis, the school also turned to a video conferencing service – Google Meets – to finalize their plans. Then, many parents and grandparents were able to surprise their students with guest, remote appearances to encourage a love of reading! Some guests dressed in costumes while reading Dr. Seuss’s books, while others shared stories about famous landmarks or favorite artists. All the guests greeted the students with big smiles and great stories. It was undoubtedly a unique and fun way to have families be involved in the classrooms once again!
