Stone Soup Happy Reading Alliance: Principal Roundtable Meeting

When the Stone Soup Happy Reading Alliance (SSHRA) was founded, the practice of a regular Roundtable meeting with the Alliance School Principals was established. This Roundtable plays a management and coordination role in the Alliance so that there is a strong relationship between the schools and fosters open communication. The Principal Roundtable meeting is held twice a year, which is attended by the Principals of the SSHRA schools. At the meeting, the Foundation shares the reading experience and results of the work completed and discusses the forward work plan of the Alliance. We emphasis the importance of Principal Roundtable meeting as a core part of our program to promote the development of the Alliance and a strong bridge between the Foundation and Alliance schools. We are pleased to see that all the Principals actively participate in the meeting – contributing and learning from each other’s experiences to promote the better development of the Alliance.

On May 19, Principals of our 41 Alliance schools attended the meeting.

The agenda covered:

Ø Library visit and special courses of the host school;

Ø Confirm winners of the 2022 Innovation Fund;

Ø Feedback from Professor Krashen’s team on the SSHRA project evaluation;

Ø School tour;

Ø Discuss the 2022/3 school year work plan. 

It is worth noting that more than 50 applications for Innovation Funds have been received this year, and 22 award-winning projects have been approved. This is a pioneering activity funded by the Foundation encouraging new ideas and creative thinking. We are pleased that the number of submissions continues to increase with more inspiring projects being presented. The Foundation is planning to increase the number of Innovation Fund prizes to encourage more schools to set up their own innovation fund activities.

Visiting schools is one of the more effective ways for the Foundation to understand the reading status of schools, and to assess the situation and any changes. For example, some schools that have less resources but with students that have good reading ability – the Foundation would provide them with additional supplies of books to support their program.

The core of the 2022 plan is still “Happy Reading”. The Foundation provides professional training for teacher librarians, building the framework of teachers’ reading ability and support framework for the Principals.