Schools in the Foothills are going above and beyond this week to show that literacy means more than being able to read and write.

Literacy Week also works to establish a real life connection with these skills to show students they're needed no matter where life takes them.

Dave Halase, teacher at Big Rock School, says it's important to establish there's an impact to literacy down the road.

"We definitely don't want to hear from students 'I'll never use this, I don't need this', so we're calling in the favours where the number of contacts we have here in the community are spreading the message, but now in a very real world application way to say hey it doesn't matter if you're the coach of a Mount Royal hockey team or the manager of a Kia dealership, literacy is important and here's why."

Big Rock has had local celebrities come into classrooms each day of the week to read to students and is holding a book exchange as well as a read-in event in the gym.

Halase says parents shouldn't necessarily fear technology.

"It doesn't matter if you're reading off an iPad, reading a manual that comes with a gaming system, or a good old fashioned book," he says. "It doesn't matter where but reading is everywhere so that's part of things we're trying to establish as well."

Halase adds there's a relational aspect to learning and recommends people take time to share literacy together.

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