Sheehan Standard Primary School celebrates DEAR Day with students

Sheehan Standard Primary School celebrates DEAR Day with students

By 8:45am on 14th March, 2024, students of Sheehan Standard Primary School Rubaga, Kampala had gathered in their preferred spaces around the school, each armed with a book or magazine .

 At 10:00am, there was a mix of silence and murmurs as the students took time to read, joining the rest of the world to mark the international DEAR Day.

DEAR is an acronym for ‘Drop Everything and Read.’ The Ministry of Education and Sports designated 15th March of every year as the national DEAR day celebration for all primary schools in Uganda. On this day, at exactly 11.00am everyone drops everything to read.

Teachers led by the head teacher  Mr Kizito Joseph and other stakeholders joined the learners at Sheehan Standard Primary school Rubaga  for the DEAR Day reading sessions.

During the colourful, the Mr Kizito and other administrators shared reading tips and challenged the learners in a series of quizzes based on selected texts.

‘’Reading has long been known to be one of the most enriching habits for children to inculcate. Many studies have shown that a reading habit is a strong predictor of life success.It is for this reason that we want to instil the love for books in our children early on’’, said Mr Kizito.

It is proven that when children are read aloud to, it boosts their brain development. It also helps them pick up the language faster. A child’s semantic comprehension, that is, their ability to draw meaning from words, also increases drastically.

On this day, children are encouraged to read and enjoy any kind of book they like. The DEAR day underlines the importance of reading skills and development as a life-long habit.

Sheehan Standard Primary School is considered Rubaga’s academic giant. The institution often projects their academic prowess in the examinations and is among the best primary schools in Kampala. The institution is private and accommodates boys and girls. It also accepts day scholars and offers a holistic approach to education and places equal emphasis on academics, sports, music, drama and arts.