'What joy, what joy! I want to shout at the top of my voice. My God, what joy! They have increased our bread rations! And by a significant amount. Such a difference: from 125g to 200g. White-collar workersand dependants get 200g, and manual workers get 350g. This isn't an absolute lifeline for us, for over the past few days we have all grown so weak that we have barely been able to move our legs.'
What joy indeed! As you will know, Robert XXXX (Year 7) has struggled with reading for many years. Due to the hard work of his one-to-one he did make some progress last year and was, ultimately, an emergent reader last summer.
Robert has worked on the Reading Wise program since September and was able to read the opening passage of this email on the Friday we broke up. This is an incredible achievement for him; his progress is testament to his hard work and those staff who have worked with him; it is also validation of the Reading Wise program.
I am urging everyone responsible for delivering Reading Wise to ensure that the program is used to its full capacity. I understand that within the maelstrom of our working days it is inevitable that some things will not get done, but this is vital; if Reading Wise can, in a relatively short period of time, make such a huge difference to Robert (who has had years of input - including phonics!) then it will help our other children.
Sophie XXXX can give you detailed analysis of any student profile ( including time spent on the program or where there are areas of weakness) if you want to know more about individuals.
The decoding program is now being supported by a comprehension program which Sophie can give you details on also.
As ever, please let us work together to give our children the very best chance of progress and achievement; let's plan for success.
I appreciate that some Oakfield staff won't know Robert XXXX, but the message remains the same. ReadingWise works, we can't let this opportunity pass us by.
Together we can, and will, ensure that no student leaves Trinity unable to read.
Thank you for your unrelenting support.
Have a great week,
Sharron Hodgson, Head of English
email from Sharron Hodgson, Head of English, Trinity Academy, Newcastle
