Local elementary school teachers reach out to students through digital read-alouds

Local Kindergarten and Second Grade teachers, Carolyn Higgins and Mark Hickey are reaching out to students daily through their online read-alouds.

The couple has been on a deferred leave for the 2019-2020 school year. Throughout the year, they have continued to find ways to stay connected with their students at Lincoln Community School during their time off.

Following the recent announcement from  The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, announcing New Brunswick’s schools’ indefinite closure for the remainder of the academic year, the couple wanted to offer their support and comfort for students during this unprecedented time.

Since students have been out of school, and at home since early March, Hickey decided he wanted to reach out to them and let past and future students know that he is still thinking of them all.

“A way to connect with [students] was always through a good story and read-aloud that I did each day, so I decided to read a story and post it on their Facebook Page and send a nice positive, uplifting message to them each day in the story,” said Hickey.

Hickey’s first story that he decided to share was titled “The Thankful Book” by Todd Parr as it reminds students of all they have to be thankful for, even as they navigate school closure and their new normal. So far, Hickey has received positive feedback from students and parents alike who are enjoying tuning in to Hickey and Higgins’ online storytime each day.

Higgins has also been uploading digital read-alouds daily for students. Higgins’ first story that she shared through the Lincoln Community School Facebook Page was called “Peace” by Todd Parr. Her selection of read-alouds was chosen to address some of the challenges they may be facing and offer ways to practice resiliency.  She wanted to be a comfort and offer activities they may do as an extension of the books.

Higgins and Hickey have found that this project has been a way for them to support their community and connect with kids during these difficult times. They hope to continue posting read-alouds until what would have been the end of the academic school year. Many teachers are now providing online school work for their students, and so this is also a way to support their endeavours by providing another resource for home learning.