Read Across America 2000—

HOM Students Celebrate A Special Birthday

By Jeff White

So, what’s your favorite Dr Seuss book?

The Cat in the Hat? Oh, the Place You’ll Go? Maybe The Grinch Who Stole Christmas?

Head O’ Meadow School principal Bill Bircher likes Green Eggs and Ham; Superintendent of Schools John Reed sides with Hop on Pop. Students at the Boggs Hill Road school last Thursday had a chance to answer this question throughout the day during the third annual Read Across America celebration, a nationwide event organized in Connecticut by members of the Connecticut Education Association.

Read Across America was started in 1998 to commemorate the birthday of Dr Theodor Seuss Geisel, the famed children’s author who would have been 96 years old on March 2 of this year.

It was truly a schoolwide celebration at Head O’ Meadow last week. Library Media Specialist Shannon Nelson Betts organized the event with the help of Rigina Lones. Mrs Betts took care of the publicity and reached out to local businesses for help. The Big Y supermarket gave the school a 50 percent discount on cookies, which proved helpful as boisterous students consumed around 580 sprinkled butter cookies throughout the day.

For her part, Ms Lones had the not-so-easy task of tracking down volunteers to read during the half-hour blocks that started at the beginning of the school day. In addition to various Head O’ Meadow teachers and administrators, Dr Reed, First Selectman Herb Rosenthal and technology advisor Norm McConnel all took turns reading.

The Dr Seuss stories, 26 of which were donated by Head O’ Meadow’s PTA, were tailored to each class. Kindergartners giggled their way through Green Eggs and Ham and The Cat in the Hat, while older classes, like the fifth grade, considered more complicated books like The Lorax and The Butter Battle Book.

For their part, students had been preparing for the Seussian celebration for most of last week. Many students designed posters and obtained the trademark Dr Seuss hat that was a common prop throughout the day. Music director Julie Bostos taught her students a Dr Seuss song that closed each reading session.

Although her favorite book wasn’t read to her class, kindergartner Audra Engleman enjoyed hearing Green Eggs and Ham. Her favorite Dr Seuss story? “There’s a Wocket in my Pocket, because I think it’s funny,” she says.

Sage Musk loves Green Eggs and Ham and Philip Lyon’s favorite Seussian yarn is Hooray for Diffendoofer Day.

“Everything keeps getting funnier,” he says of the book.

Most of Connecticut’s half million public school students participated in Read Across America this year, according to the Connecticut Education Association. In an effort to bring the celebration to as many schools as possible, the organization mailed bookmarks, posters and certificates of participation to more than 700 public schools. The theme for the 2000 reading celebration was “Reading takes you places.”

The message for the day was not lost on the students at Head O’ Meadow School, most of whom probably did not need a special day to emphasize the importance of reading. “It’s important and fun too,” explained second grader Johnny Moller. “You have to learn your letters for when you grow up.”

Although she admitted that the day was “wild,” Ms Betts is already looking forward to next year, when she can once again showcase the magic of Dr Seuss for the enjoyment of students. She impressed many onlookers with her knowledge of the stories behind Dr Seuss’ stories, such as when they were written, and why.

 “I knew that it would be exciting for the kids, but I didn’t anticipate how much the teachers enjoyed it,” the media specialist said this week with a laugh. “People were laughing all day long.”