Cross Keys High School Students show off Reading Skills

Students of the Cross Keys High School in Manchester showed off their reading and comprehension skills, while competing for attractive prizes, at the second annual reading fair held recently on the school grounds.
The event, sponsored by Carlong Publishers, is part of a wider initiative being undertaken by the institution to improve literacy and encourage students to develop a love for reading.
During the day, students, who competed by grade, read selected pieces from different books under the supervision of judges, after which they answered questions about what they had read.

Vice Principal of the Cross Keys High School in Manchester, Marlene Dilworth (left), presents books and a trophy to Simone Lawrence, who was the grade 9 winner in the Carlong Publishers-sponsored reading fair, held recently on the school grounds.

Wendy Gouldbourne, who was the grade 10 winner, told JIS News that she has a love for reading. “I generally read. Reading opens my mind to new thinking and helps me to see how other people reached their success and put me in a mood to make the best of school life,” she said.
For grade nine champion, Simone Lawrence, the books and other gifts that the winners received were a bonus. “I am very proud of myself. I read a lot. Reading is fun, reading helps me to learn new things, and to be aware of what is happening around me, and the wider society, and to broaden my knowledge,” she said.
Education Officer, Nordia Birthwright-Hill, encouraged the students to make full use of the fair and other initiatives being undertaken by the school to promote reading.
“The school has made several efforts and today is one of those efforts to ensure that when you leave here, you leave reading at the level that you are expected to, and play your part in the development of our society,” she stated.
Representative from Carlong Publishers, Bernadene Blake-McCalla, said that her company continues to sponsor the event in keeping with its corporate responsibility to promote literacy.
“Through the years, Carlong has remained steadfast in our resolve to effectively demonstrate our commitment as education partners, through our role as publishers, marketers and distributors of quality educational material that support curricula. Enabling teaching and learning, promote and reinforce values and attitudes and foster cultural awareness and identity,” she stated.