Our today's feature is on "Drop Everything and Read!" - affectionately called D.E.A.R! by some of TISA's students - a thirty-minute session enjoyed by all members of the Secondary School. Every Wednesday, staff and students pick up their novels, journals, textbooks and Kindles to "Drop Everything & Read". It's up to the readers alone to decide what to read - some students use the session to catch up on their class reading - others follow where their creative passions lead, shuffling through the pages of favourite novels.

It's not all written word either: some students (and staff!) prefer comics and graphic novels, the latest editions of superhero adventures or the classics of the 1960s. Yet others prefer to stay "in the loop," and dedicate the session to reading newspapers and thick magazines about the recent developments in Politics, Geography, Culture and History (I spotted a few copies of National Geographic!)

We adopted DEAR last year and have found it to be a very positive session of the week. EAL students in particular find it a worthwhile investment of their time, and an opportunity to get better at reading in English. That said, TISA encourages students to read in different languages during D.E.A.R! It's common practice to see the students brush up on their Language B skills by reading novels in that language - last week, Lermontov featured prominently among Russian authors, and Marquez among Spanish. Electronic reading is also on the rise - more and more Kindles are being spotted in TISA's corridors, not only during D.E.A.R! but also in classes.