PHOTO BY PAULA MULLER
Jessica McLaughlin, public schools acting special education director, reads “It’s Not Easy Being a Bunny” by Marilyn Sadler as Trevyn Corea strains to see the pictures Thursday at Sewall-Anderson School in Lynn.
By THOR JOURGENSEN
LYNN — Sewell-Anderson School teachers read to their 278 students every weekday, but they made an extra special effort this week to link the Pine Hill school to reading celebrations across the country.
Kindergarten to second-grade teacher Lauren Helinski and her aides made floppy blue construction paper hats for their children to mimic “Thing One” and “Thing Two” — fictional creatures in the Dr. Seuss children’s classic “The Cat in the Hat.”
“They love it,” Helinski said as her students listened to public schools acting special education director Jessica McLaughlin read “It’s Not Easy Being a Bunny.”
In addition to reciting the alphabet and reading aloud to students, Sewell-Anderson Principal Mary Panagopoulos said teachers strive to bring literary characters to life. They decorated their classrooms and dressed in costumes on Wednesday to illustrate “Charlotte’s Web,” “101 Dalmatians” and other children’s classics.
School reading specialist Pamela Bannister dispatched teachers and guest readers to classrooms wearing a Charlotte costume made from black insulation tubing, a dish strainer and tulle meant to resemble cobwebs.
“It took me about four hours to assemble,” Bannister said.
Dina Lemmi dressed her third-, fourth- and fifth-graders in polka dots and dog ear hats to enjoy public schools special education administrator Stacey Pena’s reading of “101 Dalmatians.” Lemmi said she tries to surround her students with words, adorning her classroom walls with alphabet and spelling lists.
Once she finished reading, Pena recited a reading oath inscribed on a bookmark she handed out to students that included this reminder: “Every book I read puts smarts in my head.”
Sewell-Anderson was also treated this week to a pre-recorded online reading by U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, who chose a Dr. Seuss book to read.
Thor Jourgensen can be reached at [email protected].
