Summer Reading 2023

Summer reading is a great program that the English department offers students at Cathedral. Every year the English department teachers carefully choose the type of books they might want to offer to their students. The teachers try to get different types of varieties of genres that might be appealing to the students. Before they come up with the list they like asking all the faculty and staff at Cathedral for any recommendations they might have. It is really beneficial and helpful to get recommendations from the faculty and staff because it really helps narrow the list and widen. All the English teachers come together and discuss the different options they can offer students.They like to choose books that will appeal to both males and females while staying with the most preferred genres.

English teacher Ms. Howell says, “I am very excited about the options for this summer's reading. I think student choice is very important, and I hope each scholar finds a book that suits his or her interests.” The English department also likes to include choices like fantasy, nonfiction and fiction. There are usually a total of around 10 books that will be available for students to pick their favorite genre or explore a new one. The list of the books should soon be available for all students from incoming freshman to future seniors. Right now the English department is finalizing their decisions about what books they think you will enjoy reading this summer.

One of the great things regarding getting the faculty and staff involved is that different staff have different preferences and opinions regarding books, which helps tremendously since they are able to target and match different genres. Even male staff will recommend different books which help to appeal to the males at school. Every year around 15 different teachers look forward to this amazing opportunity of helping out the English department to come up with the list of the Summer Reading program.

It is amazing that every year the staff at Cathedral is able to collaborate with this amazing program. The staff are really excited to cooperate and are always looking forward to helping with this. Students are always looking forward to the reading program since this is something that they have been doing since Freshman year. Incoming freshmen get to experience one of their first of many assignments to help them transition into Cathedral. Mrs. Jen Neale who has run the program for three years now, says, “Although I am not sure how long Cathedral has had summer reading, I do know that when my daughter Anna was a freshman in 2016, she read the book Ready Player One. I was not a teacher here yet, but I was excited about

BY KRYSTAL VEGUILLA

the program and (I) read the book too.” This summer reading program also helps a lot at the beginning of the school year since this is a popular topic of conversation other than what was done during summer. Many students might have been reading the same book as someone else they don’t know, which gives an amazing opportunity to connect with others and personally be able to discuss and agree/ disagree about the book. The English teachers might have the title of the books somewhere in the classroom and will have students write their name around the title to be able to see which students read what book.

The summer reading program encourages students to read during the summer and be able to have something to do during their free time. The great thing about this is the summer is kind of long and students can decide if they want to read the book in portions, have assigned reading days or just read it in a few days. Another great benefit about reading in the summer is that the student is able to read at their own pace and not feel really rushed that they are unable to comprehend. It is usually said to read the book towards the last couple of weeks of break to have it freshly in your mind for when you come back to school. Students can even improve their reading skills by reading a book during the summer. This reading program gives students something to do on those rainy days; they might want to open up the book and read. The most recommended place is Amazon since the link on Cathedral’s website will take you directly there to make the purchase. Right now the reading list is posted on the website but it does not yet have the codes to take you there to buy the book just yet. Students are told to annotate as they are reading. Annotating helps a lot when it comes to classroom discussion since students are able to go back and look at their notes. Sometimes these books are going to be part of a big welcome back project or just other classroom activities. Now some students may not look forward to reading during their summer but it will greatly benefit them in the future. The students also have 2 full months to read and enjoy their summer. If each student takes 30 minutes out of their day then they will get done in a couple a weeks depending on how many pages the book has. Although others may read the book all in one sitting because it may be one of the wonderful things to look forward to in summer.

Reading includes many benefits like improving vocabulary, reading comprehension, reading faster and growing vocabulary. The more books you read the better. Reading a book can also be a stress reliever and can help your mind be busy and occupied. The summer reading program gives the student the opportunity to look for something forward for the upcoming year. One great thing about the summer reading program is that every year there are different types of books and you never have to feel like you are reading the same type of book year after year. Since students are able to choose their genre they are most likely going to enjoy the book since it is something that they are going to like. English teacher Mrs. Jen Shevlin said, “There are actually a couple of books on the list that I have read and really enjoy. My favorite book on there is the Sycthe It’s one of my favorites and more it’s scifi which is my favorite genre. I think students will be interested in reading about this dystopian world where no one dies naturally anymore.” Reading books can be so relaxing and can help you. Students can even challenge themselves and read more than one book if they are passionate about reading. Reading is a great way to learn about things especially if the books are non fiction since the information is reliable. The summer reading program is such a great thing to look get students ready for another wonderful school year at Cathedral. So check Cathedral’s website and get ready to read this summer!