Jupiter High School students celebrate literacy week to promote the importance of writing, literature and different forms of reading and writing. 

Since reading and writing have so many advantages and there are so many ways to celebrate literacy, many feel it is crucial that literacy week be promoted on our campus.

“I think reading is very important. It kind of opens your mind to different types of people and different experiences. It is also a great way to improve your vocabulary,” Hannah Grenier, senior, said.

Reading and writing is beneficial to foreign students whose first language is not English because they are able to learn and understand different languages effortlessly.

“After coming to America and starting elementary school, I was forced to read but it really helped build my English skills and vocabulary and made me become a better reader,” Michael Tolmachev-Strong, junior, said. 

Literacy is not just limited to reading. When it comes to writing, the importance is just as valuable as reading. 

“Writing is important because it is a way for people to share and articulate their ideas in a more creative and fun way,” Chase Johnson, junior, said.  

The War Cry staff reached out to survey students’ reading habits, particularly in a year where access to classroom libraries have been limited. Teachers were limited in sharing books with students during COVID-19 precautions, and more recently have been limited by state laws and national trends in book bans.

In the survey sent out to the entire student body about literacy week, 72% of the people that responded enjoyed novels, 46% enjoyed short stories and 10% enjoyed reading poems. 

When asked about any additional forms of reading, 62% read song lyrics, 45% read magazines and websites and 33% read video game scripts. 

Reading is also not just limited to books, novels and stories, but also plays, historical documents and anime/comics. 

When asked about forms of writing, 59% enjoy writing fiction and 31% writing argumentative. Other forms of writing include poetry, research papers and song lyrics. 

Literacy week was promoted on our campus in many ways, such as decorating doors with words, having a book swap for students and allowing students to wear signs with a specific word and definition. 

“I found it really interesting to see all the students wearing different kinds of words around all week and I think it helped bring the school closer together as a community to promote literacy and show that its value doesn’t go unnoticed,” Shaelinn Mcgovern, junior, said.