March 2026
Dear Grimshaw Families:
Our school is about to take part in a special, community wide shared reading event. Every PK-6th grade student at Grimshaw will receive a copy of the same book – How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell – and will be asked to read it together at home over the next few weeks.
Reading aloud at home is valuable because it better prepares your child to be an effective reader, and it is also a fun, worthwhile family activity. With this program, we aim to build a Community of Readers at our school. Everyone – students, parents, teachers, even administrative staff – will all be following along together.
Your child will receive a copy of How to Train Your Dragon. Along with the book, you will receive a reading schedule so that you can keep up at home. Generally, you will be asked to read about 15 minutes each night. Reading begins Monday, March 2nd .
In school, your child will be invited to answer daily trivia questions to encourage and reward attentive listening. The homeroom with the most correct answers win a breakfast or ice cream party! You will soon find that your child will take pride in knowing and anticipating the details of the story. You will want to make sure your family keeps up so that your child can be included. Throughout the month, everyone will be talking about Hiccup and Toothless.
I know that you’ll enjoy this special reading time with your children. I hope to talk with both you and your student sometime in the days to come about dragons and their trainers. “When a whole school reads a book, there's a lot to talk about.” With your help, we can build a Community of Readers at our school.
Thank you for reading with your student and participating in our month of How to Train Your Dragon. And Thank you to GAPS for their purchasing our books and Grimshaw Student Council for purchasing all the supplies for our fun with dragons.
Sincerely,
Jenn McDonald
Librarian