By Shivani Arivuchelvan and Henna Kshatriya
On behalf of the WGHS Reading Buddies
Tuakana Teina, a great value that we cherish at Westlake Girls. As young members of the society we are motivated to connect with the community through service, this has driven our participation in the Buddy Reading Programme.
Through the Pupuke Kāhui Ako of Learning, we are partnering with Milford Primary School to encourage young learners to enjoy and have passion towards reading. We aim to build a supportive relationship in a safe and happy environment. We aim for younger readers to see what being fluent looks like as they have a peer model demonstrating reading skills; they can also acquire a positive role model with some intentional pairing.
Thursday 20 May, a cool sunny breezy morning, yet excitement filled many of our minds as we were about to have a great start. As learners entered, the library’s vibrant welcome brought smiles to many faces. We were paired up with a student from Milford Primary, and then the journey began. The shyness started to come out of the students as we introduced ourselves. As we went to find a book to read, this brought back child memories as we saw all the picture books.
We took turns reading to them or they would read to us. Working with the kids was a blissful experience, it was a package of great picture books, as laughs were shared as the shyness broke down. It was great to see smiles on their faces when they were reading, and as a team we aspire to help them build connections with their life and the text and motivate them to share their passion with other young learners as well. As we always say; never stop learning because life never stops teaching, and a book is a new journey.
A total of 42 Westlake students meet every Thursday morning at 8am to read with a Milford School reading buddy for half an hour. We thank Mrs Robinson and Miss Clarke for providing us with the opportunity to partake in such an amazing event.