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At the launch of the 32nd annual MS Readathon, experts point to overwhelming evidence of the positive impact of reading with children at an early age, on their achievement and success in later life.
Launching the MS Readathon at the prestigious National Library of Ireland today, MS Ireland is joined by broadcaster and children’s author Lucy Kennedy, and experts in the field of children’s literacy development, Dr Margaret O’Donnell and Dr Thérèse McPhillips from DCU. The largest mass-reading initiative in Ireland, the MS Readathon is now in its 32nd year and over 10,000 children are expected to participate this year.
Pictures by Robbie Reynolds
The MS Readathon 2019 will take place from 11 October to 11 November 2019. Children, young people, teachers, schools and parents are asked to visit www.msreadathon.ie to register.
Speaking at the launch event Lucy Kennedy said: “Every parent knows that reading with children is beneficial, but now science proves it. And just because we know its good, doesn’t mean it’s easy to get them to do it. That’s why MS Readathon is so popular, it motivates children to read, it makes it even more fun. It injects a healthy competitive spirit into it”
Dr Margaret O Donnell, DCU, said: “MS Readathon encourages parents to support their child's reading through shared or paired reading. Having good reading skills forms the basis for learning and has a positive effect on pupils’ academic performance at all levels. The research that shows parental involvement in supporting children to engage with books and reading from an early age has more of an impact than any other factor such as level of household income or social class. For young pupils, shared or paired reading, which is what MS Readathon is all about, with an adult extends and enriches the child's vocabulary and improves reading comprehension. The research also shows that an interaction exists between enjoyment of reading and reading achievement. Reading for pleasure among school children has been shown to have a positive correlation with reading achievement and performance on standardised measures of attainment.”
Ava Battles, CEO of MS Ireland said: “Many parents report that the MS Readathon is the first time their children connected with books and literature and develop a lifelong love of reading. The MS Readathon is so important, it is a key annual fundraising initiative for MS Ireland where young readers, parents, teachers and schools have continued to support the MS community, reading and raising funds to help people living with MS and their families. This is greatly appreciated and as each annual MS Readathon comes around, we want to acknowledge their efforts.”
Pictures by Robbie Reynolds
Funds raised by young readers around the country directly support vital services, for example the MS Ireland Information Line, (enabling one-to-one support for those newly diagnosed), physiotherapy and exercise classes to help people with MS remain independent, and respite care. The MS Care Centre is the only national respite and therapy centre for people with MS in Ireland.
To increase awareness about Multiple Sclerosis, MS Ireland have a number of volunteer ambassadors from the MS community who will visit schools and speak to students and teachers about the condition and how it impacts their lives. There are of course rewards for everyone who takes part in the MS Readathon, there are also 30 sets of wireless headphones and 10 iPads up for grabs too. Throughout the reading month, there are book review and illustration competitions and great prizes to be won.
Young readers can get their reading lists ready by checking the 2019 lists on www.msreadathon.ie featuring great books for kids from the new to the classics.
Do you have a bi-lingual bookworm at home or a bookworm who’d like to challenge themselves by doing the MS Readathon in a language other than Irish or English? We’ve teamed up with our friends at Languages Connect (you can learn more about them at languagesconnect.ie) who have very kindly sponsored two extra iPads this year. To be in with a chance to win one of these, children must raise €80 or more and read over half of their books in a foreign language. (Excludes English or Irish). You can find suggested reading lists in lots of different languages at msreadathon.ie.
For participating schools around the country the 32nd MS Readathon will provide:
To get involved with the 32nd MS Readathon 2019:
Visit: www.msreadathon.ie
Email: read@msreadathon.ie
Phone: 01 678 1624
For more information on MS and MS Ireland, visit our website on www.ms-society.ie, call our information line on 1850 233 233 or email info@ms-society.ie.
