The Great Reading Competition wins the 2021 Parents' Award
This year, the Big Reading Competition received the Home-School Parents' Award. Ingibjörg Einarsdóttir was also named the Home-School Hardworking Champion, and two Encouragement Awards were presented on this occasion. The Encouragement Awards were received by the musical Annie from Víðistaðaskóli and the project 'Sustainability and Reduced Food Waste' at the Urðarhóll health nursery school.
The Home-School Parents' Awards were presented for the 26th time at a ceremony in the National Museum at Hverfisgata on 21 May 2021. The President of Iceland, Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, addressed the gathering and presented the awards. This year, the Big Reading Competition received the Home-School Parents' Award. Ingibjörg Einarsdóttir was also named the Home-School Diligence Champion, and two Encouragement Awards were presented on this occasion. The Encouragement Awards were received by the musical Annie from Víðistaðaskóli and the project 'Sustainability and Reduced Food Waste' at the Urðarhóll health nursery school. As is customary, a special jury reviewed all the nominations and selected the award recipients.
- See the announcement on the Home and School website.
- It all started in Hafnarfjörður – an interview with Ingibjörg Einarsdóttir
- Models in Icelandic Language Advancement – the festival in Hafnarfjörður 2021
This year, the Big Reading Competition received the Home-School Parents' Award. Ingibjörg Einarsdóttir was also named the Home-School Hardworking Champion.
The Great Reading Competition in 25 years
For 25 years, Raddir, an organisation for quality reading and presentation, has run the Great Reading Competition for Year 7. It began in the winter of 1996-1997 with 223 children taking part in Hafnarfjörður and Álftanes. Now, many thousands of children take part each year in numerous schools across the country, and the National Reading Competition has long since established itself. The Junior Reading Competition for Year 4 has also been added, which began in 2010. From the outset, great emphasis was placed on collaboration with homes and on getting parents to take an active part in the project. However, there is now a turning point, as this is the final school year that Raddir will run the Great Reading Competition after 25 years of successful operation. Its management is now being transferred entirely to the local authorities, who will, for the most part, continue to keep it in high esteem. The association has done a great deal of pioneering work here, with Ingibjörg Einarsdóttir, chair of Radda, at the forefront.
The 2021 Home-School Partnership Hard Worker is Ingibjörg Einarsdóttir.
The 2021 Home-School Partnership Hard Worker is Ingibjörg Einarsdóttir. She is the former head of the office at the Hafnarfjörður School Office and chairperson of Radda, an association for quality reading and public speaking. Ingibjörg has been the project manager for the Great Reading Competition for 25 years and has worked tirelessly to promote the reading skills of primary school pupils. She has done this, among other things, through the Grand Reading Competition for Year 7, in collaboration with Raddir and the country's municipalities, but few, if any, projects have had such widespread coverage in Icelandic primary schools. She has also been instrumental in the Little Reading Competition, which is held for Year 4 pupils. Ingibjörg has received, among other honours, the Icelandic Order of the Falcon for her contribution to improving the reading skills of primary school pupils, and was also honoured by the Minister of Education and Culture on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Grand Reading Competition in 2016.
Home-School Partnership Award 2021
Two Home-School Partnership Awards were presented this year: The musical Annie from Víðistaðaskóli and the project 'Sustainability and Reducing Food Waste' at the health nursery school Urðarhól.
The musical Annie was put on by Year 10 pupils at Víðistaðaskóli this spring, but there is a long tradition of the Year 10 class staging musicals as a fundraiser for their travel fund. All students take part with a variety of contributions, including acting, music, costume design, make-up, lighting and sound, to name but a few. Parents and other well-wishers then buy tickets for the show and are supportive throughout the process. This allows all students to flourish and experience the unique atmosphere that comes with such a production. A fantastic initiative that brings together members of the school community, and the reception was exceptionally positive. The project Sustainability and reduced food waste The health nursery Urðarhóll also received an encouragement prize this year. The project is about reducing food waste and sustainability education. The health nursery Urðarhóll has red worms to break down food scraps and turn them into compost. On the nursery grounds, there are six guinea fowl that are fed food scraps. Parents look after the birds at weekends and receive eggs in return. One of the hens is now sitting on fertilised eggs, and chicks are expected soon. The process can be followed on the school's website.
Hafnarfjörður sends its best congratulations to the winners, with thanks for their professional and dedicated work for the benefit of the school community. Thank you, Home-School Association, for the initiative!