School Name: St. Paul's Secondary School, Oughterard, Co. Galway
Project Name: Sow the Seed, Sit and Read
Award: Making Our World a Better Place for Young People Challenge

Award presented by Frances Fitzgerald TD, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.

This project highlighted the importance of literacy among young people and the importance of parental involvement in instilling a lifelong love of reading in children, by educating them in the benefits of paired reading.

The team believes that this will, in turn, improve literacy levels at a local level. The team created, illustrated and produced a book called ‘Holly Learns her Lesson’ to be used as a tool to teach parents and children how to do paired reading.

An information leaflet was also produced for people using the book. All parents and students in second class in the feeder schools for St. Paul’s were targeted and the team hopes to share their information on paired reading with all of them. A workshop has been organized to educate parents outside the community on paired reading also.

External links were made with Department of Education in University of Limerick, a publishing company and Galway Bay FM, who will advertise the group’s product in order to create further awareness of the issue. To raise money for the book, fundraisers were held which included a non-uniform day, a cake sale and a raffle. These funds enabled the group to order 150 copies of their book and the focus now is to promote use of the book in primary schools.

The judges said “In addressing an issue that is currently on the rise in Ireland, this group made external links with the Department of Education, Mary Immaculate College and local schools. They developed a child friendly storybook to facilitate paired reading in local schools. They have ISO books and will continue to promote paired reading in local schools.”