Westfield to host joint Literacy Night

Westfield Community School in Algonquin has the perfect way to teach students about reading and writing without them even knowing.

The school is hosting its first joint Family Literacy Night from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the school, 2100 Sleepy Hollow Road.

Students from kindergarten to eighth grade will have the chance to read to a therapy dog, write a letter to a member of the armed forces and interact with a local ROPE officer.

“This is a fun way to do something fun for your child and be involved in their literacy,” said Diane Bruschuk, a social studies teacher and literacy leader at the school. “They can see that literacy and reading doesn’t have to be sitting down and reading a book. There are many things you can do with your child.”

Bruschuk said students can write a letter to a soldier, which will be sent by 2nd Lt. Deandra Carbone, of the U.S. Army.

The evening will include 21 stations located throughout the school from the library to computer labs, as well as a scholastic book fair to raise money to purchase books. There will be games, prizes, book discussions and other family reading and writing activities.

“The elementary school has done their own thing in the past and this is the third annual for the middle school side,” Bruschuk said. “This will make it a true community school.”