March Madness: Swimming River School Breathes Life Into Reading

Swimming River School in Tinton Falls was crawling with all sorts of strange characters last week at the annual Read Across America book parade.

Fourth and fifth graders marched through the school's all purpose room on March 4 lead by their principal to show off their favorite books and wrap up Read Across America celebrations.

As students circled through the school's hallways and all-purpose room, there were Hobbits and dorks and bonnetted girls from the prairie. Poisedon was followed by some army men and a really spooky looking ventriloquist holding a dummy passed through the halls.

Students passed the judges tables that were laden with treats offered as voting incentives to the officials. There were cupcakes and muffins and some slimy candy trapped in a test tube piled up on the fourth and fifths grade judging tables.

In the middle of it all was library clerk Joy Eastmead keeping the parade traffic moving with admonitions to passing students. "Hustle! Hustle!" she instructed one group. "Keep it moving," she told one another group of students dressed as the Three Pigs.

After students returned to their classrooms, those that were chosen as judge's favorites for costumes and originality were called to the media center to receive medals and have their picture taken with School Principal Marion Lamberti.