Pasco County School District 2008 Partnership
Are you concerned as to how the summer break will affect your children’s
reading practice? What if you could have a fun interactive
literacy program delivered to your door every morning this summer
for just 14 cents a day?
 You are in luck! The Pasco County School Board is once again encouraging
participation in the Sizzlin’ Summer Times Reader
Program, designed to help continue the reading progress that your
child made this past school year. This program is funded through
a voter referendum allocation along with substantial support from
the St. Petersburg Times Newspaper in Education program
(NIE).
Here is how it will work. Beginning June 9, families who sign up
to participate in the Summer Times Readers Program will
receive home delivery of the St. Petersburg Times 7 days
a week for 10 weeks (see information below about the special rate).
The Times NIE department will mail out a package of education
materials designed for your child to use with the newspaper, a reader
response log, a Summer Times Reader pin and a parent involvement
guide. Families who already receive the Times can also participate
and receive education materials.
Each Monday students can go to the HOT SPOT feature in the Times BayLink
section that will offer up fun facts on subjects such as health and
fitness, the arts, character education, science, sports and safety.
The HOT SPOT will suggest elementary and middle/high school activities
students can try at home using information they can find inside the
newspaper. Additional activities can be found at the program’s
Web site: tampabay.com/nie/summer.
Our hope is that participating students will read the Times at
least 15 minutes each day and fill out the reading log every week.
Your role as parent or guardian will be to encourage your child’s
daily participation, discuss with him or her what is read, sign the
weekly reading log and model good reading habits by reading the newspaper
yourself. The reading log and parent guide will give you plenty of
easy tips on how to make this a part of your daily routine.
To make summer reading even more appealing, special discount offers
will be available for Summer Times Reader participants who
wear their pins, such as free admission and discount to local attractions
and businesses. Your child will be super-motivated to read and learn
when they see all the benefits of the program!
But here is the best reason to participate: Research has shown that
student performance on standardized tests is improved by using the
newspaper as a reading resource and that the combined use of the
newspaper in school and at home brings an even greater increase in
test scores. We know that children learn best when parents are interested
and involved in their education. Many parents have found that looking
through and reading the newspaper is an easy, enjoyable way to read,
talk and think together with their children. Seeing a parent read
the newspaper every day motivates a child to want to do the same – read
and learn.
SPECIAL RATE: Your family must be a subscriber
to the St. Petersburg Times for you to participate. If your
family does not already get the Times delivered to your
home, we have a special $10 offer that includes 10 weeks of home
delivery of the Times, access to the e-Edition and a packet
of fun materials you can use to win prizes and get discounts from
our sponsors. All families in the Tampa Bay area who have never before
subscribed to the Times are eligible for this offer.
To participate, call 800-388-4637 and mention code 4477.
Thank you for considering the Sizzlin’ Summer Times Reader
Program and for your ongoing efforts as our partners in education.
If you have questions about the newspaper subscription, please contact
the TimesNIE office at 727-892-2260.
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