Thursday, March 8, 2007

Tulip Grove hosts second annual read-in

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Christopher Anderson⁄The Star
Second-grader India Holland, 8, puts some cheese on a cracker as she listens to a storyteller read from a book called ‘‘The Stinky Cheese Man” during Tulip Grove’s ‘‘Read In” on Friday.
What do two pirates, two butterflies, a leprechaun, a beatnik, a ghost, a pigeon, an adventurer and over 300 pupils and their families have in common?

The Second Annual Family Read-In Night at Tulip Grove Elementary, which was held from 7 to 8:30 p.m. last Friday.

During the read-in, nine Tulip Grove teachers dressed up in a variety of costumes to match the stories they were read to Tulip Grove pupils and their families.

The teachers also decorated their classrooms to match the theme of the stories and gave out ‘‘special treats” after they finished their reading.

‘‘The younger kids really liked the caterpillar story room,” staff member Joyce Gomes, said.

Tulip Grove teachers Janet Nay and Ann Ford, who were dressed like butterflies in the caterpillar room, decorated their classroom with paper butterflies and nets, as well as a lifestyle caterpillar made out of three craft tables.

Tulip Grove pupils and their families were invited to wear their pajamas and bring blankets, stuffed animals, sleeping bags and whatever else they needed to feel comfortable while listening to stories being read by Tulip Grove’s teachers.

‘‘Family Read-In Night was a great way to encourage our students to read while still having fun,” Tulip Grove principal David Scuccimarra said. ‘‘For the last two years Ms. Gomes and the reading specialist, Ms. Hall, have done all the planning.”

One of the most visited classrooms was the pirate one, where Tulip Grove teacher, Lona Giosa read ‘‘A Pirate’s Life for Me: A Day Aboard A Pirate’s Ship.”

Several parents joked there was ‘‘standing room” only in the classroom, which was decorated with pirate chests filled with a ‘‘bounty” of special treats for the pupils, toy skeletons and parrots hanging from the ceiling and cut-outs of pirate faces on the wall.

At the end of reading the story, Giosa passed out bandanas, crowns, gold coins and plastic inflatable swords to the pupils so they could pretend to be pirates.

Tulip Grove parent Elisa Johnson said that she decided to participate in the Family Read-In Night because she and her daughter, Abby, attended the previous year and had a lot of fun.

‘‘I like that the kids are encouraged to bring their families,” Elisa Johnson said. ‘‘It’s important for parents to be involved with their child’s school.”

Abby Johnson said that her favorite classroom was the one where she heard a ‘‘scary funny” story as well as the leprechaun story room.

Proudly showing off a toy cauldron she received from the leprechaun classroom, filled with chocolate coins, leprechaun stickers and pencils, Abby Johnson said she enjoyed her evening and hoped to come back next year.

At the end of the night, the faculty invited everyone to the cafeteria where they received a ‘‘bedtime snack” of cookies and milk.

E-mail Wendy McConnell at wmcconnell@gazette.net.

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