8
S moke S ignals
february 15, 2014
‘It’s a real good thing both ways’
READERS continued
from front page
program lead this year. “It’s work
toward a cause I believe in,” he said.
“Increasing literacy in children.”
Jong works under faculty adviser
John Glenski, who started this com-
munity program last year.
“It’s a real good thing both ways,”
said Glenski. “It’s a chance for the
students to be out in the communi-
ty, and for the HeadStart students
to get this encouragement to read
at a young age.”
Of the three classes attending,
all are pre-school, but only Chak
Chak and Mawaich are HeadStart-
funded programs.
The philosophy of the SMART
program is to help children acquire
essential skills early. “Also,” said
Jong, “if they develop this interest
early, they’ll read for the rest of
their life.”
SMART provides the Grand
Ronde program with 200 books
each year. Pre-schoolers are invited
to take one book home a month.
For the October-May program,
about half of this year’s books are
gone, said Tribal Librarian Marion
Mercier.
The Delphian School also is col-
lecting books to give to SMART
students, both in Grand Ronde and
at Willamina Elementary, where
Delphian students also read to
young students, Jong said.
On Thursday, Feb. 6, Glenski and
a group of 11 Delphian students ar-
rived at the Tribal Library. Once a
week, on Thursdays, they come for
nearly two hours when they read
to as many as 47 Tribal and non-
Tribal pre-schoolers who are 3, 4
and 5 years of age.
Catie Currier, a junior from
Clearwater, Fla., is an aspiring
actor. Before coming to the North-
west, she attended the Clearwater
Delphian School that only served
students through middle school.
She joined this community project
after Jong invited her.
“I love little kids,” she said. She
noted that her 4-year-old niece
brought out the excitement of work-
ing with little children. “The energy
they have for everything they do.
They have a lot of passion.”
It’s maybe not accidental that she
notices these things in children. Of
herself, she says, “If I want to do
something, I want to do it all out.”
As many of the Delphian readers
noticed, the young listeners started
out shy, but after working with the
same reader week after week, they
became confident and outspoken.
“They’ll see me and say, ‘Catie!’”
“Do you promise to read the snake
book this week?” Esten Kimsey,
from the Lilu class, asked her.
Currier told him that they would
read the book next week.
“Just that he’s excited about it
makes me very happy. He taught
me about giving things a chance,”
she said. “He was shy at the start,
holding his teacher’s hand. He was
in a shell, but now he’s come out of
his shell.”
Riley Sonz, a sophomore from
Tampa, Fla., also attended the
Delphian School at Clearwater and
came to the Sheridan Delphian
for high school. He’s a sports guy,
playing basketball, tennis and
baseball.
He also decided to work for the
program as a result of Jong, hear-
ing about it from a school-wide
message.
“It’s a really good feeling to put a
smile on their faces and make it fun
to read,” Sonz said. He also read to
children during his Florida school
experience. “Seeing a kid reading,
I just think it’s great.”
Of Bailey Woods, from the Mawa-
ich class, Sonz says, “I’ve made a
connection. She’s a lot happier than
when I first met her.”
One of the keys, he adds, is to not
treat them like children, but “just
have fun with them.”
Of Travis Lugo, also in the Mawa-
ich class, he said, “His persistence
to learn, to put his own thoughts
out there, I’ve never really seen
that before.”
The program in Grand Ronde
started last year, said Mercier.
“Our role is to facilitate,” she said.
“They love getting to take a book
home and they love to read. When
they start, they’re timid.” Later on,
she said, “their excitement takes
over.”
“The Delphian students are so
mature. They’re like young teach-
ers. They seem to have a joy for
working with little kids. Plus, they
love books. It’s awesome to see and
that gets passed on to the kids.
We appreciate the service they are
doing.”
Vikki Bishop, Early Childhood
Education Program manager, said,
“The focused, individualized atten-
tion is the most important. They get
more, and it’s always nice to have a
new person involved in their life.”
She also mentioned the benefits
of being read to “because a lot of
parents don’t have the time to do it.
Hopefully, they walk away with the
idea that reading is important.”
“The 4- and 5-year-old kids are
much more interested in the book
part,” says Bishop, “and the young-
er kids are maybe more interested
in their new friend.” n