June 2025
Dear Parents/Guardians,
On behalf of the North Shore Middle School Library Media Center and English Department, we thank you for the opportunity to be partners in helping your children continue to foster their appreciation of reading this summer. Summer is a great time to emphasize the pleasure of reading whether at the beach, a park, on vacation, or at home.
Recreational reading can yield powerful results. Research confirms that the decline in children's reading development that can occur during summer vacation times is significant. We, therefore, recommend that students aim to read for a half hour each day.
Our summer reading program aligns with our academic goals of having students read regularly, reflect on author's craft, and learn about themselves as readers. Consequently, we do not assign students specific titles, but rather offer them a choice from a menu of engaging books to interest and inspire them. If we can help children find books that they care about, we are confident that they will embrace the joys of lifelong reading.
As your children begin their summer break, please visit our NSMS Summer Reading site with them, and follow the instructions for finding at least two books – preferably one “mirror” book (books in which the student-readers see themselves reflected in the plots, characters, settings, and experiences) and one “window” book (books in which the student-readers enhance their background knowledge and explore new perspectives through unfamiliar plots, characters, settings, and experiences). You may use the optional Goal-Setting and Reflection Sheet as a guide.
Book One: Students select from the grade-specific list aligned with their grade in September 2025.
Book Two: Students select another book from their grade-specific list or choose anything that appeals to them in the Windows and Mirror tab above.
During the summer months, Ms. Livingston, our NSMS Library Media Specialist, and the librarians at the Sea Cliff and Gold Coast Libraries can provide expert assistance in choosing and accessing hard copies, digital options, and audiobooks of the books that children love, including those on the comprehensive list identified in our site above.
In September, the NSMS English teachers will assign students a writing task which draws from the students' Summer Reading experiences. This will help prepare our students for a yearlong sequence of individualized reading conferences tailored to help them grow as readers and thinkers.
Sincerely,
Julie Ritter
Director of K-12 English Language Arts, Library, and Literacy; North Shore Schools
Nina Livingston
NSMS Library Media Specialist
