Community members share love of reading with students at Ocean City Primary School
OCEAN CITY — Police officers came armed with “Mingo the Flamingo” and “We Don’t Eat Our Classmates.” Firefighters hoisted “A Sick Day for Amos McGee” and “Not a Box,” and school board members brought “The Giving Tree” and “Where the Wild Things Are.”
Along with senior volunteers, they shared their love of reading Thursday morning at Ocean City Primary School to reinforce that love among the community’s youngest students.
Having the diverse group take part in Read Across America Day, according to Primary School Principal Cathleen Smith, demonstrated to students the importance of reading at all ages by having guest readers “all the way up to grandparents” represented by a large contingent from the Friends and Volunteers of the Ocean City Free Public Library.
“We read to them every day,” Smith said of herself and teachers, “but now they have policemen, firemen, the superintendent and school board members. It really brings reading alive. Everyone is bringing different pieces from their favorite authors, talking about what makes reading important to them.”
Smith noted that after a hiatus on Read Across America and other events because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this event was like a “grand event, opening up our schools to the community” again.
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Matthew Friedman was there “to promote the love and reading. I think it is so great to connect with kids and get into the classrooms, to see the excitement and enjoyment when we read stories together. You can’t even put it into words. I enjoy doing these things.”
Noting how many volunteer readers showed up, Friedman added, “I think it’s indicative of the community that we all come together to support the kids in the district. It’s amazing to see all the support, but it’s not uncommon. I see it all the time with all the events.”
Two from the grandparent realm were Friends and Volunteers members Peg Havener and Kathy Wheatcroft.
“I always loved reading to my own children and now my grandchildren, and I know how important it is for children to develop that love of reading,” Havener said. “I like to help out with that.”
She enjoyed her reading assignment.
“I was in kindergarten. They were a blast,” she said.
“I love reading myself and I like to see children continue to read,” Wheatcroft said. “I think it’s really pleasurable when a child has a book in his hands. I know you can read in an e-book, but it gives you pleasure to see the characters come alive.
“It was fun,” she noted. With a laugh she added it had been a while since she had read to children.
“My grandkids are 20 and 18, so it was nice to be around the little ones,” she said of the preschool class. “They were very good listeners.”
School board member Kevin Barnes told the children that “reading is the way to success.
“Early on my kids read a lot and they’re doing really well in school,” he said. “I’ll never stop being a kid myself, so I like being around other kids.”
Liz Nicoletti said she was honored the board members were invited.
“We were asked to pick our favorite book and mine is ‘The Giving Tree’ (by Shel Silverstein), and I can’t wait to read my book to all these little kids. One reason I came is because reading is contagious and when they see that I love this book, maybe they will love this book, too.”
Cecelia Gallelli-Keyes and Disston Vanderslice, two more school board members, also took part.
Gallelli-Keyes was eager to mark the birthday of children’s author Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel).
“All the schools in the nation are celebrating his birthday and I am honored to come to Ocean City Primary School and read to these very intelligent students,” she said. “I think they should celebrate anything that has to do with reading, and anything about learning and compassion. Just being a part of adults reading to them and asking questions and having them engaged is very enlightening and I’m proud to be part of it.”
Vanderlice picked “Where The Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak, “which was my favorite book as a little kid. I remember my parents reading it to me. My son isn’t totally into this level of book yet but in a couple years he will be.”
He took part in Read Across America “just to help make a positive impact for the kids and really start to embrace the community. I have a two-and-a-half-year-old who will be here in a couple of years so I hope to be helping to read to him and his friends too.”
Members of the Ocean City Police Department’s Community Policing Unit and the Ocean City Fire Department were happy to be at the school as well.
Asked why they came, Sgt. Chris Vivarelli said, “Because we enjoy spending time with the children in the community.” As for why he chose the book “Rabbit Squirrel: A tale of war and peas,” he laughed. “Because this is the one that was assigned to me by Dr. Smith.”
Officer Jack Davis was reading, “We Don’t Eat Our Classmates.”
“I came because we’re part of the Community Policing Unit and we enjoy doing events in the school,” Davis said. “Any chance we get to do something with kids, it’s always a good time.”
Officer Kayla Ricci agreed that it’s fun to work with children. She picked “Mingo the Flamingo” because “it looks like a fun read for the kids.”
Officer Michael Gray chose to read “The Good Egg” because it teaches about doing the right thing; the egg tries to get the others to do the right thing and gets stressed out.
“It’s what kids go through. It’s relatable,” he said.
It teaches life lessons, Vivarelli added.
Firefighter Mike Carmody was reading “Not a Box” which “teaches kids how to be creative.”
He was glad “just to help out the community and reach out to kids.”
Colleague Zack Kreiser had “A Sick Day for Amos McGee.”
“It’s about a guy going to a zoo and taking care of animals. It’s a good book,” Kreiser said.
Firefighter Ryan Stamm was reading in the school where his wife, Liz Stamm, teaches.
“It’s great for the kids to see that the community loves them and loves to read,” she said of her husband and the others who took time out to come to the school.
Jennifer Shirk, an author and president of the Ocean City Free Public Library Board of Trustees, talked of the importance of Read Across America and literacy in general.
“I think it just stresses the importance of reading and how people in the community can have these little impacts on children’s future love of reading,” she said of the special event.
“I forget who said it, ‘A reader today is a leader tomorrow.’ Especially in Cape May County, the reading literacy is not high,” Shirk said. “When you increase literacy in children and in adults,” she added, it’s important, because it will mean a better chance of getting a job and less of a chance of ending up in prison.
Karen Mahar, director of the library, said it was important for the community to all come together.
“The Friends and Volunteers of the Library, community members, school board, police, fire. The important piece here is reading. We are instilling in our young children how important it is to read, to read aloud, to talk about books, to have books in your hand,” Mahar said. “And that it’s necessary and something we need to have … in the forefront for our young children.”
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff