Heroes celebrated for reading week

Kelcy Dolan and Nicole Boucher
Posted 4/16/15

Grab your favorite book and go sit in the sunshine because it is Reading Week.

Throughout all of Warwick’s elementary schools, students, parents and teachers are getting excited about reading. …

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Heroes celebrated for reading week

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Grab your favorite book and go sit in the sunshine because it is Reading Week.

Throughout all of Warwick’s elementary schools, students, parents and teachers are getting excited about reading. The schools are hosting guest readers and special themed days during the week to remind students just how enjoyable reading can be.

This year’s theme for reading week is “Be Your Own Hero – Read,” a call many of the schools stepped up to exemplify. Some schools had students dress up as their hero, some could bring them in and others even supported their hero’s cause.

Warwick Neck Elementary is collecting donations for Christina Markrush, who will be dancing in this year’s Dancing with the Mentoring Stars for the Rhode Island Mentoring Partnership. Markrush, a true mentoring success story, went to Warwick Neck and was mentored there.

“It’s nice that the school I grew up in is still continuing to support me,” she said.

Now she returns to the school and mentors a few students there.

When she was told that she was chosen as the school’s hero she couldn’t believe it. She was humbled and had no words to express just how much the honor meant to her.

Cathy Maguire, a second grade teacher and coordinator of Warwick Neck’s Reading Week, said Markrush was a role model for students.

“Christina was not only a mentee here,” Maguire said, “but she came back and now pays it forward and mentors students here. She just wants to help.”

“I think it’s great to celebrate literacy at all ages and make sure all kids have the opportunity to have a book in their hands,” Markrush said about Reading Week.

Maguire commended Markrush for all her efforts, noting that dancing is out of Markrush’s comfort zone but she continues to support the Mentoring Partnership with fundraisers for Dancing with the Stars.

Throughout the week students are able to purchase donated gently used books during lunchtime and everything raised goes to Markrush.

Similarly, on Tuesday students and teachers alike could donate a dollar or more to Markrush and bring in their stuffed animals and blankets for “Snuggle up with a good book day.”

At 1:15 the entire school stopped to read with their stuffed animals for a half hour. They also sang happy birthday for Beverly Cleary’s 99th birthday. Cleary, a famous children’s author most know for the Ramona & Beezus series, created D.E.A.R. time, also known as Drop Everything And Read.

On Tuesday the school raised $352 for Markrush.

Warwick Neck’s principal, Patricia Cousineau, said reading week is important so that students can create a “love for reading and appreciation for literature” at a young age. She wants her students to know reading isn’t a chore but a way to relax and enjoy down time.

Due to a bombardment of testing Maguire said students can often forget that reading is fun and not only for assessment purposes. This week at Warwick Neck students are allowed to read whatever they want; none of the books are assigned.

“We need to celebrate literacy,” Maguire said. “We want our students to want to read, not think it is a chore they have to do before they go to bed or watch TV.”

Other programs Warwick Neck is running is a Poem In My Pocket Day, where students will carry around their favorite poems or one they have written themselves to share with their classmates, Hat Day and Read A Shirt Day, where students can wear shirts with words on them.

At Randall Holden Elementary, some of their heroes visited the school to read for them. Principal Kenneth Rassler said that throughout the week they will have anywhere between 30 and 50 guest readers. Two of the visitors were none other than Governor Gina Raimondo and Mayor Scott Avedisian. Substitute teacher Wayne Barnes sent an e-mail to Raimondo asking if she would like to come read to his class this week, and the school was delighted when she accepted the offer. Both Raimondo and Avedisian had their choice of book to read from the classes’ selections choosing Dooby Dooby Moo and The Very Busy Spider, respectively.

Randall Holden has a lot of other activities throughout the week as well. They held a book swap Monday, and on Friday they will end Reading Week with an ice cream celebration

During the day, kids are able to win prizes from book trivia and “mystery readers,” where teachers anonymously read poems over the intercom so students can try to guess which teacher it is.

Raimondo described the visit as a “happy day,” as it gave her the chance to visit and show her appreciation for students and teachers.

She was animated and engaging while she read to the students, often commenting on the absurdity of dancing pigs or snoring ducks. The children had no hesitation about joining in with animal noises when prompted. At one point, when the students didn’t respond, Raimondo joked, “Well, you can’t win them all.”

After her reading, Raimondo was given a pen from the school as a thank you, and she told the students she would sign the universal full-day kindergarten bill with it when it passes.

Raimondo starts every morning reading with her own children and said it’s important to instill an appreciation and love for books at an early age and it was a pleasure for her to get to spend part of her day with the young students to share that love of literature.

She said, “It is so important for everyone to read. I am happy to come to the school and read. It reminds you of why we all work so hard to make sure these kids have a hopeful future.”

Avedisian is very supportive of the Reading Week program, and thinks it “sets a good foundation” and instills a lifelong love of reading.

It was not only the mayor but also the school’s Rassler and reading teacher Nancy McCormack who expressed how important Reading Week was for getting kids excited about reading. The three recognized how important reading is for not only future endeavors but also personal enjoyment.

Christina Markrush is still fundraising for Dancing with the Mentoring Stars that is April 30. To donate to her cause you can call the Mentoring Partnership at 732-7700 and donate in her name or donate on her Razoo fundraising page at www.razoo.com/story/Dancing-With-The-Stars-Of-Mentoring-Christina.

BE MINE: Alex Rodrigues, a second grader, reads next to his giant teddy bear for Snuggle Up With A Good Book Day, part of Warwick Neck’s Reading week. Students paid a dollar or more to bring in their stuffed animals.

NEVER TOO OLD: The 6th graders at Warwick Neck Elementary all show off their stuffed animals proving that you’re never too old for a stuffed friend. (Warwick Beacon photos)

Paige Leland, left, and Gianna Paolino (right), both third graders, grip their teddy bears while practicing fractions before D.E.A.R. time. Drop Everything And Read gives students time to take a book of their choosing for some quiet time with a book.

MAN’S BEST FRIEND: Tyler Chapman, a third grader, holds on to his stuffed dog. The whole classroom either kept their stuffed animals on their laps or on top of their desks during class time.

All of the first graders brought in both stuffed animals and blankets so they could get cozy with a good book for reading week. All the money donated is going to Christina Markrush, an alumnus of Warwick Neck who now mentors for the elementary school. The funds will be part of her fundraising campaign for the Rhode Island Mentoring Partnership.

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