Community members spread lesson on literacy at Ocean City Primary School: ‘It opens the world’
OCEAN CITY — Reading, Kathleen Woodring said, “opens every door, every window. It opens the world.”
Promoting children’s literacy was the impetus for the Friends and Volunteers of the Ocean City Free Public Library and its involvement in Read Across America Day on March 3 at Ocean City Primary School (OCPS).
Woodring is the coordinator for the group’s Read Across America project.
The Friends have been coming to the primary school for decades on this special day in March when they read to the children and gift each of them a book.
This year, in coordination with the library’s children’s librarian, Taimi Kelley, the Friends were giving out books by children’s author Beth Ferry, who was giving a presentation at the library earlier this week.
“All the books we are gifting are Beth Ferry books, a different book for each grade level. And we’re giving hardback books this year, so we’re so excited about that,” Woodring said. “We’re encouraging the kids, as we read to them, to also attend the presentation at the library on March 11.”
The Friends does other community projects, including giving gifts such as books to children on their first day of kindergarten and sponsoring the third-grade family literature club.
“Many of our members — and we’re like 90 members strong — are retired teachers or retired librarians, so they want to (promote) the joy of reading, “Woodring said. “A big goal of our organization is to promote literacy in our community.”
OCPS Principal Dr. Cathleen Smith said the “whole essence of primary school is built around reading and literacy” to encourage children to build upon those aspects as they move on in grades.
She was appreciative of the community coming in to support Read Across America because it provides role models for children.
Along with the Friends and others reading were Mayor Jay Gillian, police officers and local pageant royalty, Little Miss Ocean City, Junior Miss Ocean City and Miss Ocean City.
“They’re here promoting reading,” Smith said. “Every little girl’s dream is to be Little Miss, so they see that it’s not just about being beautiful. It’s about literacy. You see the police officers that little boys look up to. They’re about literacy. You see the superintendent, who’s running the school district, he finds reading important. It’s just everybody coming together to celebrate literacy.”
Don’t forget the teachers who support it every day. They wore their “best dressed-to-impress summer gear” to add another element to the special day and they decorated the hallways with an “Under the Sea” theme that included a rainbow arch of balloons inside the front door.
“It’s all about having fun, but showing the importance of literacy,” Smith said.
The guest readers ranged in age from just out of primary school to well past retirement. All got something out of Read Across America.
“I enjoyed their expressions. They looked so enthused. And very attentive. It brings me back to when my grandkids were little,” said Friends member Kathy Wheatcroft. “It’s giving back to the community, doing something different, especially since my grandchildren are 19 and 22,” she said, laughing. “They’re off to college. I never taught. I was corporate America, so it’s a different thing for me.”
“It was so much fun seeing the little kids and getting to know them. They were so adorable and so into it. It was a lot of fun,” said Miss Ocean City Taylor Mulford, a student at Ocean City High School.”
“I loved all the questions they asked and getting to their imagination,” added Junior Miss Ocean City Sarah Smith, a freshman at OCHS.
“I was very appreciate that the classes I read to were very respectful. They sat down the whole time while I was reading. I was expecting them to be crazy and running around, but they were really nice,” said Little Miss Ocean City Taegen Vivarelli.
Taegen was joined in the classroom by her dad, Chris Vivarelli, a sergeant with the Ocean City Police Department.
“My favorite part was getting the opportunity to spend time with my daughter and have her read to the kids,” Sgt. Vivarelli said. “This was a special occasion. We do this every year. It’s fun to pop into a classroom and spend a little time with the students.”
“It was exciting to see the day bring out the youth in all of our community’s adults,” said Deepa McCabe, the OCPS librarian and computer science teacher.
“Of course, seeing adults getting excited about children’s books always gets kids excited about reading and it exposes them to different books. The books the adults pick to read might be something new to the children. That exposes them to something new. That helps broaden their horizons and gets them excited about reading something different,” she said.
McCabe noted one of the police officers read the same title to the students in English and in Spanish. “I thought that was an interesting and new way to teach kids language and reading all together,” she said.
The Ocean City Free Public Library had some additional representation at Read Across America in the form of Board of Trustees President Jennifer Shirk and library Director Karen Mahar.
“Spreading literacy in the community and engaging young minds in books and different words” is important, Shirk said. “I read to a pre-K class so it was really nice to see them so engaged in the story.”
She loved the community participation.
“That is one of the best things and it’s good for the kids too to see so many members of the community come out and want to read to them and show them how important literacy is and books and imagination,” Shirk said.
Mahar liked the fact the Friends and Volunteers put a book in every child’s hands. That, she said, “is so cool. Again it brings all the community …. It’s a community event and we all partner together. Cathleen Smith is awesome. She provides us a nice breakfast and the kids love the reading. It’s cool having them sitting there ready to listen to what you have to say. We need more reading and libraries and books.”
Mahar noted that message needs to go to young adults as well. She just heard about an initiative to reprogram young adults because they are so hooked on their phones.
“We need to get back to the written word and reading at night,” she said.
The library director added that Ocean City Superintendent of Schools Dr. Christian Angelillo pointed out that some parents don’t realize how important it is for them to read to their children.
After Read Across America, Mahar said, “Hopefully the kids go home and say, ‘Read me a book!’”
– STORY and PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff