A day about books at Buck

    For knowledge the school plants a seed, by telling its students to go out and read.
    It was a day of my rhymes like that and many more at the William L. Buck School on March 2, to celebrate Read Across America day as well as the birthday of famous children’s author Dr. Seuss. It was the first time the school has held the event and organizers are calling it a success.
    Reading teachers Carol Cannonito, Rich Kerin and Suzanne Channing planned the day of reading along with librarian Karen Mylan. Guest readers visited each classroom to share a Dr. Seuss book. The author would have been 107 years old last week.
    The guest readers — who were a mystery to students until they arrived — were teachers and staff members who are not usually in the classrooms including the physical education teacher, nurse and secretary. Principal Mark Onorato visited a second grade class to share the Seuss tale “Oh the Thinks You Can Think.”
    “You can see the smiles on the faces,” Onorato said. In addition to reading the book, Onorato talked about reading strategies with the children, telling them to visualize and predict.

    Channing visited David LeWinter’s fifth-grade class to share Seuss’s “Oh the Places You’ll Go.” Student Frankie Giugliano said it was the first time he had heard that book. “It rhymed a lot and it was funny,” he said. “It was really creative.”
    Later that morning, Frankie and his classmates paired up with their buddies. Children in the older grades get together with students in the younger grades throughout the year to work on various projects. So it was natural to pair up for some activities on Read Across America Day, including reading with each other, making bookmarks and playing Dr. Seuss tic-tac-toe.
    In the afternoon, the whole school sang “Happy Birthday” in unison for Dr. Seuss. Students were also able to bring in new or gently used books to donate to local children’s hospitals as well as the Ronald McDonald House. And the PTA provided stickers, certificates and a bookmark for all students.
    “We wanted to do something special so the children could enjoy reading,” Cannonito said. “Hopefully each year we can build upon it and make it even more special.”
    Mylan said the guest reader program was a big hit. It was especially exciting for the older students, she said, who read more advanced books for class but got to hear a whimsical Dr. Seuss tale. “No matter what grade they are or what age they are,” she said, “they just love having someone read them a book.”
    She said the event was fun for the teachers, as well. Mylan echoed the sentiments of Cannonito to make the day even bigger next year, perhaps adding an assembly or inviting members of the community to come in and read.
    All students received a packet to take home to their parents, outlining ways that parents can support reading at home, as well as a list of recommended books. “It gives some advice to the parents,” Onorato said. “It’s just so great to have the community involved.”