Literacy for Life at St Clair's

Students are catching the book worm at Holy Spirit St Clair’s, by being a part of its Early Bird Reading Program.

Designed to support all students by promoting the importance of reading and writing in our daily lives, this program offers more than basic literacy skills.

While improving their ability to read and write, the children spend lots of time with their peers in becoming more aware of others’ emotions, feelings and perspectives. It’s also offers a great opportunity to build positive relationships.

Reading is a major focus at Holy Spirit, as they believe success in life comes from the ability to read and understand complex concepts.

They take a whole-school approach to the teaching of reading, having strategies taught in English, as well as all key learning areas and other aspects of school life beyond the classroom.

In the classroom, children are encouraged to become active in the reading process by talking about what they are reading before, during and afterwards.

They are encouraged to understand the texts at a deep level, rather than just at the surface. This helps them develop life skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, analysis, and justification of their point of view.

Holy Spirit students and families know and understand the importance of reading at home too.

6 Tips for helping your child when reading at home

Every child reads something he or she chooses… let your child choose the story.
Every child reads accurately… be encouraging while helping them read the words correctly.
Every child reads something he or she understands… make sure the story is relevant to his or her experience.
Every child writes about something personally meaningful… encourage your child to write about his or her interests, or something they care about.
Every child talks with peers about reading and writing… try to have a conversation with your child about what they learnt from their homework.
Every child listens to a fluent adult read aloud… try to make time to read to your child or spend some time reading as a family.

(Based on six elements of literacy instruction – Richard L. Allington & Rachael E. Gabriel, 2012)

Written By

Holy Spirit Primary St Clair
www.hsstclair.catholic.edu.au

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04 Jul 2026
From Facebook
🎈 100 Days of School is UP! 🎈 Adventure is out there, and our amazing kindergarteners have been exploring it for 100 whole days! 🎒✨ From counting to 100 to growing by leaps and bounds, these little explorers have officially earned their "100 Days Smarter" badges. Just like Carl and Russell, we’ve learned that the greatest adventures are the ones we share together. 🏠🎈 Thank you to our incredible teachers, staff, and parents for helping our students' imaginations soar higher than a house lifted by balloons! Here’s to the next chapter of the journey! 🗺️💙 For more fun photos click here https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1T2jWiGiJI9u4D5-8sMDMaPyDq64EztC0

02 Jul 2026
From Facebook
💙 Thank You, Holy Spirit Community! 💙 Our hearts are full! Thanks to the incredible generosity of our students and families, we collected close to 800 items for our St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal. Joan, Janette and Margaret from the St Vincent de Paul Society were overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of our school community. Your donations will bring comfort and hope to those in need this winter. Any final donations can be left at the front office tomorrow. Thank you for making a difference and for living out our Gospel values. 💙🙏