This article can be found originally on SA Good News
This morning Coronation and its literacy partner Living Through Learning spread joy at all their beneficiary schools and Reading Adventure Rooms in Cape Town as the learners read The Mouse Who Ate the Moon.
1 February 2023, Cape Town – A love of reading was sparked in the hearts of thousands of school children from eight Cape Town schools today, on World Read Aloud Day, as they read the same sweet children’s book all at the same time.
Coronation’s Big Read saw the learners across the schools read The Mouse Who Ate the Moon simultaneously at all its sponsored Reading Adventure Rooms. The initiative was coordinated by the literacy organisation Living Through Learning.
At Lotus River Primary the children were entertained by a big mouse mascot in the colourful Reading Adventure Room, while being read the story, making for a cheerful sight as they all celebrated the joy of reading together. The children were given the same snack as the mouse in the story and all received a squeaky mouse toy to take home.
THE STORY MOUSE:
The joy of reading was sparked today as learners from eight Cape Town schools, including Lotus River Primary pictured here, read the same sweet children’s story together on World Read Aloud Day. Coronation and its literacy partner Living Through Learning hosted the city-wide occasion at the schools’ fun-filled Reading Adventure Rooms. As they were read The Mouse Who Ate the Moon, they were entertained by a giant mouse who handed them each a mouse toy they could take home.
“It’s a great privilege to partner with our schools and our longtime literacy partner Living through Learning to promote a love of reading. It’s incredibly important for children to develop a love of reading early on as it directly correlates with their academic success later in life,” said Mary-Anne Musekiwa, Corporate Social Investment (CSI) chairperson at Coronation.
In the education system, reading for meaning by the end of the foundation phase in Grade 3 is regarded as a key determinant for academic achievement in all subjects in the intermediate and senior phases, as well as the likelihood that the child will finish school one day.
WHY CORONATION SUPPORTS LITERACY
In the education system, reading for meaning by the end of the foundation phase in Grade 3 is regarded as a key determinant for academic achievement in all subjects in the intermediate and senior phases, as well as the likelihood that the child will finish school one day.
THE STORY MOUSE: Living Through Learning’s Natalie Roos and a giant mouse mascot entertained the learners from Lotus River Primary on World Read Aloud Day today. Coronation and the NPO hosted the city-wide occasion at their Reading Adventure Rooms in Cape Town. As the children were read the sweet children’s story The Mouse Who Ate the Moon, they were entertained by a giant mouse who handed them each a mouse toy they could take home. The purpose of the day was to spark the joy of reading in these young learners.
Motivated by the pressing need to address the significant deficits in primary school literacy in South Africa, reading is a central aspect of Coronation’s CSI extensive work. They have been supporting literacy in underserved local schools for more than a decade and been running their official education-focused Capsule Programme since 2018.
The programme includes supporting primary school literacy through its Reading Adventure Rooms in under-resourced schools. Coronation also provides ongoing support to teachers and parents regarding literacy through its non-profit partners, and funds the further academic development of school principals.
THE STORY MOUSE: The joy of reading was sparked today as learners from eight Cape Town schools, read the same sweet children’s story together on World Read Aloud Day. Coronation and its literacy partner Living Through Learning hosted the city-wide occasion at the schools’ fun-filled Reading Adventure Rooms. As they were read The Mouse Who Ate the Moon, they were entertained by a giant mouse who handed them each a mouse toy they could take home.
WORLD READ ALOUD DAY
For 13 years, World Read Aloud Day has called attention to the importance of sharing stories by challenging participants to grab a book, find an audience, and read aloud. The global effort is celebrated annually in over 173 countries and is all about bringing people together through the shared connection of reading aloud in all of our communities.
ABOUT CORONATION
Coronation is a licensed financial services provider. As one of the largest independent asset managers in South Africa, we invest the long-term savings of millions of South Africans. Our clients include individuals, retirement funds, medical schemes, and financial institutions. We also manage assets for several leading international retirement funds, endowments, and family offices. Our core objective is to deliver investment excellence, which is underpinned by five focus areas, namely: excellent long-term performance, building a global franchise, world-class client service, active corporate citizenship, and effective governance. Our culture and values are important factors in delivering on our commitment to being responsible stewards of our clients’ assets, and we understand that we have been granted a social license to operate. We earn this in the way in which we invest and in the way in which we operate. We achieve this through considering environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in our investment decision-making process, our corporate citizenry and corporate social investment projects.