City of San Fernando, Pampanga—Leading the whole nation in the celebration of the National Reading Month this November, the Department of Education will hold the nationwide synchronized reading time at nine o’clock in the morning today in all public elementary and secondary schools.

With the theme “Nasa Pagbasa ang Pag-asa,” this year’s celebration aims to support the Ten-Point Agenda of the Aquino Administration, commemorate the birth anniversary of the late Senator Beninno “Ninoy” Aquino on November 27 and celebrate his ardent love for reading, and promote the DepEd’s Every Child A Reader Program making the Filipino leaners a generation of readers.

All school officials and learning center administrators are enjoined to conduct school activities for elementary and secondary learners such as Mystery Reader where school administrators, Schools Division Superintendents, and Regional Directors are directed to be mystery readers of a children’s Filipino story book during the school’s flag raising ceremony; Magbasa Tayo where learners from upper grade shall read a story with those from the lower grade at a designated time and place; the week-long Reading Olympics that will feature activities which feature Filipino literature including stories about Filipino heroes; and Libro Ko Handog Ko where participants and guests of the Reading Olympics will donate a story book written by a Filipino author which will be given turned over to school libraries.

Other suggested activities in celebration of the National Reading Month include the invitation of parents and other community volunteers to help the non-readers and other learners with reading difficulties, the Reading Family symposium which highlights the importance of reading to their children at home, KaREADathon where mystery readers share a story of hope to the children in the hospital, and the Parade of Book Characters in schools.•