Greetings!
As always, I'd like to thank those of you who continue to
make our A.H.A.V.A. dreams a reality, creating brighter horizon for an Israeli
child's future.
This year, we've been burning brighter than ever with over 150 children participating in our various programs.
Gaila Morrison, Executive Director, A.H.A.V.A.
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| What is the Readathon?
A simple Readathon could be the answer to the difficult
questions of rising poverty and increasing social gaps.
What if, instead of giving Isr aeli children another handout, we
gave them the opportunity to increase their skills, learn how to be productive
and find high-level jobs in the future? What is the key to this future? Higher
education. What is that one component that often prevents them from achieving
their goals? Lack of English literacy.
A.H.A.V.A. - Israel's
only non-profit dealing solely with English literacy promotion - has developed
an innovative way to get Israeli children to read. In a five-week competition
children are encouraged to read as many English books as they can. At the end
of the marathon, all the children are invited to a readathon awards ceremony in
which they all enjoy a fair and a show, and receive prizes for their hard work.
In an age where television dominates and it is difficult to get
children to read in any language, A.H.A.V.A. is successfully encouraging
Israeli children to read in a foreign language. more about A.H.A.V.A readathons
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A Success Story
Sonya
Sonya can barely read in English. She's in fifth grade; by
now she's had two years of English instruction in school. Most of her class
manages to read at the appropriate level for second year foreign language
learners, but Sonya can't. In addition to struggling with English, Sonya
has problems at home. She lives with her mother, her grandmother and her older
brother. Her father left the picture long ago. Money's tight and
sometimes they have to skimp on dinner just to pay the rent. No one even mentions
extra tutoring to help the struggling student.
But a few weeks ago, something amazing happened. Sonya brought a crumpled
orange sheet into the classroom and handed it to her English teacher.
"I couldn't believe it," her teacher explained to us later.
"This child, who never does her homework and barely participates in class,
had read 12 books for the A.H.A.V.A. readathon. And she'd even written
down the titles all by herself. The truth is, I wasn't even sure she knew how
to form the letters, and she actually READ!"
It's true that Sonya didn't raise the most money for A.H.A.V.A. scholarships,
nor will she win a prize for the most books read, but of the 120 children who
participated in our third annual Children's English Book Readathon, perhaps Sonya
will be the biggest winner of all. She challenged herself, and she won!
To support Sonya and other children like her, please click here to
donate to A.H.A.V.A.
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The Party
April 13, 2008
This past Sunday, April 13th, the Awards Ceremony for the A.H.A.V.A. English Readathon 2008 took
place in Ma'ale Adumim. This is the third annual readathon A.H.A.V.A. has
organized, and the most successful one by far!
We had
food, a raffle, a fun juggling show and lots of prizes. Over 50
hardworking children received recognition for their efforts; over half were
native Hebrew speakers! All participants went home with a book as a
prize. In attendance were David Sharett and Yoav Shur, Director and Deputy Director of the
Education Dept. for Maale Adumim, Esti Zeltzer, a representative of Steimatsky Books;
plus over 200 parents, teachers and participants.
Over 12,000 shekels were raised for A.H.A.V.A
scholarships. 123 students
participated, but the best part of all - 1,760 books were read!!! How
many other kids in Israel
read that many books in a five week period?!
Our Readathon has just ended but it's not too late to help
us help more children learn English and create a better future for themselves.
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Upcoming Events
A.H.A.V.A.'s future plans
Breaking Through
Naomi, a 5th grader, could barely read an English letter. She was
two years behind her peers in English and was getting more and more
frustrated. With the help of A.H.A.V.A.'s "Breaking Through" Remedial
English Tutoring Program, Naomi, and other learning disabled students
like her, can not only catch up to their classmates, but they can soar!
A.H.A.V.A. would like to implement this innovative project that
utilizes volunteers to work one on one with struggling students, into
more schools. We have three schools begging us to bring them "Breaking
Through". We have 50 students signed up. We only waiting for one
thing, your support. This spring, help us make this program a reality
for next year's Israeli students.Writing Contest
Right after Passover we will be listing five new writing assignments. With a different title and genre each week, the children get a chance to explore their creativity via writing skills. Winners will be announced at our Academic Fair.
Academic Fair
Right after Shavuot, all A.H.A.V.A. classes present their best work and projects of the school year. Parents come to marvel at the achievements of these students. They get to browse and write comments on the work. Each child from Kindergarten through Sixth Grade makes a short presentation, and receives a Certificate of Excellence. Finally we end the day with ice cream cones for each of these deserving students.
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