September is National Literacy Month and a great month to kick off our San Angelo READS! Read Alouds! City National Bank President and CEO Wrey Montgomery visited Santa Rita Elementary and read aloud to kindergarteners for the first book giveaway of the year on September 11.
Three classes of kindergarteners listened and laughed as Mr. Montgomery read “Dragons Love Tacos” by Adam Rubin aloud in the school library. “It’s a fun little book,” said Mr. Montgomery. “It’s based on the fact that dragons love tacos but the crux, or where it kind of turns, is that if they get into too spicy of a taco, dragons do what dragons do.”
In “Dragons Love Tacos,” a young boy learns that dragons love parties and all kinds of tacos, especially taco parties. He learns that tacos are key if a person wants to make friends with a dragon and to watch out for spicy ingredients and toppings because dragons cannot stand spice. Spice makes their ears smoke, makes their snorts spark and gives them tummy troubles. The boy prepares a taco party for a group of dragons and accidentally overlooks the mild salsa that is “Now Made with Spicy Jalapeno Peppers.” After eating the mild salsa, the dragons start breathing fire and destroy his house but cheerfully help him rebuild his home, and get served tacos as they work.
“Watching the students’ reaction to Mr. Montgomery’s animated story telling of ‘Dragons Love Tacos’ was so entertaining,” said SAISD Director of Community Relations Sun Cha. “What a great book! Everyone had a fantastic time. The students absolutely loved the read aloud.”
SAISD recognizes the importance of early and continued exposure to reading, fostering a love of reading, and helping to provide access to books and reading materials. “We truly appreciate Mr. Montgomery and City National Bank for their partnership, support of literacy and for providing all of our kindergarten students with a copy of ‘Dragons Love Tacos,’” said Ms. Cha.
To stay up-to-date on San Angelo ISD, please visit the SAISD website at www.saisd.org and follow us on Instagram, Facebook and X. Keep Reading, San Angelo! #SAISDReads #SanAngeloREADS
The San Angelo Reads! community-wide literacy initiative was founded by the District in 2020 to promote and encourage reading and the SAISD future-ready learner profile attributes among SAISD students and the greater San Angelo community. The goal of the literacy initiative is to increase awareness of the importance of literacy and to inspire a love for reading. This exciting initiative is driven by statistics which show how vitally important literacy is to providing all students with the opportunities to succeed at a young age. Children and teenagers who read for pleasure on a daily or weekly basis score better on reading and writing tests than infrequent or non-readers.
SAISD kicked off San Angelo READS! on December 9, 2020 with the first annual San Angelo Reads! Day, a day when literacy was celebrated at every SAISD elementary campus with literacy fun like read-ins, unveiling book vending machines and a gift of a book to all SAISD 3rd graders compliments of the San Angelo Area Foundation. SAISD is focused on building literacy skills that create students who are prepared for future successes, inside and outside the classroom and beyond their time in our hallways.