GESS: Promoting Reading and Literacy at Every Age

From specialised libraries to “blind book dates” and author visit, GESS celebrates books and reading throughout the school year

Learning to read is one of life’s great joys, but as mamas of littles ones – not to mention scientists – can tell you, books have a massive benefit for babies and children even before they can read themselves.

The educators at GESS, a Singapore international school catering to students from 18 months up to 18 years of age, are well versed in this, too! Starting in preschool, children enjoy designated inquiry rooms and other special resources that cater to young children’s natural curiosities.

GESS also has three different age-specific libraries (for Preschool, Primary, and Secondary students), each designed to be as welcoming as possible for children of all ages and reading abilities. Well-equipped, professional librarians also teach younger students research skills in a simplified, age-appropriate manner, so that from a young age they develop the confidence to use books to discover knowledge. 

As students get older, GESS libraries in Primary and Secondary School have a combination of both physical books and digital resources, each offering just the right amount of challenge, while also promoting informational literacy, not to mention an important sense of self-empowered learning.  

Throughout the school year, GESS offers a wide array of programmes to prove a truly immersive literary experience while also helping to connect children’s interest and talents to reading. For instance, the annual Reading Festival invites students to dress up as their favourite book character. The school also has “blind book dates” to enable students to discover genres and books they might not have been exposed to before. And of course parents, other community members, and even book authors visit classrooms frequently to read to students.

We particularly like how GESS encourages students to take greater ownership over the reading process by giving them say in how the libraries’ books are curated, and creating special book recommendation walls (similar to what you might find at a bookstore!). And there’s also the much-loved Red Dot Readers Cup!

Another popular feature are the many visits from authors and illustrators throughout the year, which further encourage students to explore and pursue their own passions. Whether learning about self-expression through poetry, reflecting on how disabled persons are represented in fiction, or discovering how the rainforest served as the inspiration for one author’s characters, books come to life for GESS students in myriad ways.  

Want to find out more? Drop by GESS’s upcoming Open House on 23 May to find out more. You’ll get to check out their stunning new state-of-the-art campus, and learn more about how the school promotes a love of reading at every age! 

All the details!
What: GESS Open House (Primary and Secondary Schools)
When: Thursday 23 May 2019
Time: 9:30am
Where: GESS, 2 Dairy Farm Lane, Singapore 677621
RSVP: Click here to register, mama!

www.gess.sg