By VICKIE JAMBON – Staff Reporter

NORCO – Norco Elementary is holding a Summer Fun Camp to help first graders maintain reading strategies and literacy skills.

The two-week reading recovery program is being held Monday through Thursday during the hours of 9-11:30.

Certain students are targeted during the school year and are provided tutorial services. Reader recovery teachers testing children in the fall found these same students were regressing in their reading skills over the summer months.

“This is our first effort in experimenting to prevent that loss,” said Julie Bohnsack, a teacher with the program.

Teacher, Ada Webre, said $3,878 for the project was provided by a Norco community grant and that additional costs were paid by the school district’s Title I Funds.

Activities, including arts and crafts, are formatted around books with familiar stories. Children are asked to read with teachers in small groups or individually.

“It’s a collaborative effort,” Webre said. Terry Matherne is the director of Literacy for St. Charles Schools and Sue Braniff is leader of the reading recovery teachers. Two other teachers included in the outreach are Stephanie Centanni and Keri Doty.

Webre and Bohnsack recognized the efforts of school principal, Rita Bertolino and School Board Member, John (Jay) Robichaux.

The teachers said Bertolino found out about grants being offered and Robichaux encouraged the school to do the project.

“Jay got the spark going. He helped steer us to get the funding we needed and he supported our efforts every step of the way,” Webre said.

Norco Elementary will hold another program scheduled July 26-August 5. This group will include kindergarten children and first graders who participated in the literacy program. These children were also targeted in a mentoring program during the school year. “We want to give them a boost before they come back to school,” Webre said.

Webre added that the second program provides more reading activities and less arts and crafts.

Five components from the National Reading Panel are incorporated in both camps. They are phoenix awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension.

Additional teachers will be added for the second project. “The first grade classroom teachers will see kindergarten children that will be coming to them in the first grade,”Webre said.