Slam dunk for Lynn Reader Leaders

LYNN – Harrington School Principal Debra Ruggiero didn’t just take one for the team, she took 37, each one toppling her into the dunk tank but all in honor of reading.”It’s time to find out where we stand,” said Ruggiero during the school’s annual assembly to recognize Reader Leaders. “The dunk tank is out there waiting. I hope no one practiced.”Each fall Ruggiero sets a reading goal for the school. This year’s goal required 520 students to become Reader Leaders. Students earn points either by reading or in the case of younger students, being read to, and if they earn enough they become reader leaders.”We have 92 new reader leaders,” Ruggiero told the students. “We had 435 before this month so if we add 92 to 435 our total is 527 ? so we hit our goal and went over by seven students.”The payoff is every one of the 527 reader leaders got to pitch a ball and try and sink Ruggiero in the dunk tank.”I’m a little worried,” she said.The event ends with the dunk tank but it starts with Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy handing out citations to the top reader in each classroom. Kennedy called out the names and took a minute to speak with each student before handing them a citation.”I love coming here,” she said. “It’s invigorating to see the kids and they get so excited to get an award.”She likes that the event comes at the end of the year when it could provide incentive for students to continue reading over the summer.”Nothing beats a shady tree, a cold glass of water and a good book on a summer afternoon,” she said.Kennedy handed out awards to third-graders Gabriel Martinez, Celina Ysalguez, Trixie Nguyen, Jeone DePena, Miriam Crisman, Chrismairy Victoriano Pena; fourth-graders Jacob Haley, Yolimar Ruiz, Nels Josephs, Bryan Chincilla, Furat Al-Bidery, Diana Gomez and Irma Rasidovic; and fifth-graders Tracy Nguyen,Griselda Gomez, Fernando DeLeon, Aila Agresevic, Valentina Santelises and Juliaska Trinidad.She also recognized Sebastian Perlera, “a kindergarten student who came up to the library on his own to be a reader leader,” she said. Librarian Carole Shutzer said Perlera comes to the library at 7:30 a.m. to read and add to his reader leader points.”He is extremely motivated and working very hard on his own,” she said. “We are so proud of his effort.”Jaedon Mojica, Leylani Kem, Jordy Carpio, Miriam Crisman, Irma Rasicovic and Tracy Nguyen were named the top reader in each class and will be treated to lunch out with Ruggiero via a limousine.Emily Rodriguez was also named a top reader but because she is a pre-K student she won’t be able to take the limo ride.”I will do something very special with her,” Ruggiero said.Ruggiero also recognized four classrooms as well as the entire third grade that had 100 percent of students become reader leaders. Meghan Barry is one of the third grade teachers and she made a bet with her students that if they hit the 100 percent mark she too would go into the dunk tank.”I told them just because I’m in there doesn’t mean I’ll be dunked,” she said.But she was, three times by students and a fourth time by North Shore Navigators pitcher Skyler Geissinger.Geissinger and his teammate Kyle Gauthier stepped up and made sure each teacher who sat in the tank was dunked at least once.Fifth grader teacher Gregg Tobie came up gasping just a bit after one of his students dunked him.”It was refreshing,” he said with a laugh.Second grade teacher Amanda Stevens and kindergarten teacher Jennifer Gambill also found their way to the bottom of the dunk tank courtesy of a student and Gauthier.But it was Ruggiero who spent the most time underwater.She took her dunks in stride and came up splashing the students who dunked her and playfully taunting students to “miss, miss, miss,” when they came up to pitch.”It’s a celebration of literacy,” said Shutzer. “We haven’t met our goal in a long time. This year we did it with a lot of work.”