Hats Off to Literacy Day!
We are encouraging ALL members of the community to design a hat that reflects their favorite: character, book, author, genre, scene... Anything is possible! We look forward to a colorful, creative parade on Friday!
Pages From Patrick
Two years ago the Muraco Community led a literacy initiative called Pages From Patrick to honor Patrick Gill, a former Muraco student who died in September 2014. The summer before he died, Patrick had volunteered in a program called Encounter, where teens from St. Mary’s in Winchester spend one week of the summer in the Washington, DC area in various settings.
Patrick worked at the Freedom School, which is a literacy program that fosters positive literate experiences for underprivileged families. In his short visit Patrick made a strong connection to one little boy and came home with the intention of continuing to help his new friend. It was that friendship that inspired Patrick’s mother, Susan, to reach out to the little boy.
Susan’s act of kindness inspired the Muraco community, and with that Pages From Patrick was born. Because of the generosity of the Winchester community, Susan and Melissa Testa were able to deliver over 30 boxes of books and school supplies to the Freedom School (over 1200 books!) Their visit included some time spent with the staff and children of the Freedom School Program. They saw first hand how powerful the program was and how helpful these supplies were.
Other Winchester teens have continued work at the Freedom School. Last summer, during the Encounter week, the teen on site at the Freedom School shared her connection to Pages From Patrick with the staff. She learned that the books and supplies delivered in 2015 lasted almost an entire year at the Freedom School! The staff was sincerely grateful and touched by the generosity of the Winchester Community.
Pages From Patrick is based on a foundation of friendship and a love of literacy. Both of these values are true to the Muraco Community each and every day. In that spirit, the Muraco Community will once again participate in Pages From Patrick. There will be several collections from now until the close of school. The first will be in conjunction with our celebration of literacy on Friday, March 3rd. This Friday, we are encouraging all members of our community to bring a NEW book to school to kick off this service project. The Freedom School is in need of NEW books from preschool to young adult.
We appreciate your consideration and are eager to share our love of literacy!
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| Muraco Students Love to Read! |
