43
Watson students board the Polar Express
Photo
Board of Education member Kathy Mock joined in the Polar Express pajama party with an ice blue robe, even though she was still wearing work-appropriate clothing underneath.
Photo
Neighbors | Sarah Foor.Polar Express Day had Austintown administrators sharing in holiday cheer with Watson second-graders on Dec. 17. Board of Education member Tom Stellers (left) read the book "The Polar Express" and interacted with teacher Patty Manning's students.
Photo
Board of Education member Kathy Mock(right) came bearing gifts for the second-graders after the Polar Express story time. Mock gave a handful to student Arianna Hoffman.
By SARAH FOOR
Even with some of the busiest schedules in Austintown, former Watson administrators and Austintown Board of Education officials couldn’t fight the urge to board “The Polar Express” with the first-graders of Watson Elementary on Dec. 17.
“The Polar Express” outlines the journey of a young boy who rides the famous train, in his pajamas, all the way to the North Pole, where Santa gives him a silver bell that only the boy and his young sister can hear ringing. The story ends with the famous line, “The bell still rings for me, as it does for all who truly believe.”
On “Polar Express Day,” the Watson’s first-graders lived a day right out of Chris Van Allsburg’s book. The students, their teachers, principal Shelia Palombo, and even some of the board of education officials wore pajamas all day, in anticipation for the Polar Express.
Board of Education members Tom Stellers and Kathy Mock each read the story to a classroom, while superintendent Vince Colaluca, Director of Curriculum Dan Bokesh, and former Watson principal Jim Carchedi read to the other classrooms.
Clad in a nightgown, Mock read the last line of the book to the first-graders, admitting, “I usually start crying at the end of the story. This is one of my favorite books.”
As treats and drinks were handed out after story time, first-grader Reese Cotton held a paper bell in his hands and shook it vigorously.
Reiterating the end of the story, he exclaimed, “I can hear the ringing. I still believe!”