Reading Log - We encourage all members of the school community, including students, faculty, and staff, to read a minimum of 600 minutes (or 10 hours) during the summer months.  We know that summer reading is particularly beneficial in helping students retain and expand upon the literacy skills they have developed during the past school year.  All who complete and submit a Reading Log when we return to school will earn St. Joseph Spirit Shirt privilege on Thursday, September 3.

Required Summer Reading - A list of required reading titles for students entering grades 2-8 is posted below.  Please make sure your incoming 2nd-8th grader reads the book(s) assigned to the grade level she/he will be entering in August.  ***Upper School Note – Mrs. Pouttu will post digital access for some of the 6^th and 7^th grade titles during the summer months. She will reach out to families to provide reading extension activities at that time.***

Poetry Memorization - Students in grades Kinder-8th grade have an assigned poem to memorize. The homeroom teachers will have the students share the poem by memory, either individually or as a class group, when we return to school in August. Please find your student's grade level poem in the files posted on the school website.  

Recommended Reading Lists - This summer's recommended reading lists are publications from NCEA (National Catholic Educational Association) and ALA (American Library Association) and are intended to provide guidance as parents and caregivers select summer reading materials for students in grades PreK-8. Feel free to consult these or other recommended lists at your local public library.  The NCEA lists are available on the school website and the ALA list can be accessed at this web link: http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/notalists/ncb

SJCS Required Reading List, Summer 2020

2^nd - D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire

3^rd - Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

4^th - Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder

5^th - The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Jester or Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell (choose ONE only!)

6^th (Select one title) – Black Beauty by Anne Sewell OR The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain

7^th (Both titles) - The Crossover by Kwame Alexander AND The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

8^th (Both titles) - The Red Pony by John Steinbeck AND Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick