Schools
Monte Vista Goes Bonkers Over Books
During a week of celebration, students and teachers come together for one special evening of literature with the PTA.
Last Thursday, Monte Vista students and teachers came together to celebrate "Read Across America" week. Throughout the week, Monte Vista students and parents worked together to promote literacy, enjoy reading, and collect books. Festivities commenced throughout the week, like "book swap day," the PTA-sponsored "Read Across America Literacy Night" and another day where students came to school dressed as their favorite Dr. Seuss character. There was also a book drive in which several hundreds of books were collected to be donated to needy families and local libraries.
The "Read Across America Literacy Night" brought together children clad in jammies and slippers, toting blankets eagerly througout the school's cafeteria. Kindergarten teacher, Nancy Wammack, captured the children's attention with a riveting retelling of Rudyard Kipling's classic, Rikki Tikki Tavi. Then, separated into groups, the children got to design and decorate their own bookmarks. Finally, there was an exciting "book walk." The book walk is like a cake walk or musical chairs where the children moved from square to square with the music and when it stopped, the winner got to choose a book. Plenty of books were available for all the students and everyone won several books. At the conclusion of the evening, the children gathered at the stage for the final reading of the night. from much-loved teacher, Janet Chadwick. The children laughed and giggled at the humorous jokes retold in a Dr. Seuss joke book.
"Read Across America Week" began in 1997 under the National Education Association. This annual event happens each year during the week of the infamous Dr. Seuss' birthday. "Read Across America Week" is the largest celebration of reading in the country. In Washington D.C., Michelle Obama kicked off the week by reading to over 400 local children.