43
West reading week is out of this world
Photo
Neighbors | Sarah Foor .The students of West Elementary were excited to steal a few minutes reading in the “Moon Base West” reading area, which included comfy chairs and decorations that showed them looking down at earth from the moon. Andrew Nguyen (left), Alyssa DePizzo, Miguel Burgos, and Brittany Solomon (right) enjoyed some reading time on the moon on Feb. 11.
Photo
Although West’s celebrations for Right to Read week focused on teachers and staff members reading to students, they also welcomed surprise guests like Army Sergeant Josh Moffie (right) to read and answer questions from the kids.
By SARAH FOOR
The students of West Boulevard Elementary blasted into their spaced-themed Right to Read Week from Feb. 7 to 11.
The week of literacy fun and games was planned by new reading specialist Lisa Rucci.
“Being my first year planning Right to Read, I wanted to shake things up a bit. I wanted our week to be a real community builder and a celebration of our school.”
Instead of inviting a plethora of guest readers, Rucci decided that the leaders of the story times should be members of the West faculty and staff.
“Principal [Al] Cervello read to the students this week. Our secretary read a book called “Secretary from the Black Lagoon” to a classroom; the students got to see some of their old teachers and meet some of their new ones. It definitely created a school pride feeling,” Rucci said of the week.
Surprise readers like Army Sgt. Josh Moffie were also welcomed to the festivities.
“I went to West Elementary in my third and fourth grade years, so it was nice to come visit. Many of the students thanked me for the work I do. I was touched. The kids at West are great,” Moffie shared.
Outside of story times, West students showed great successes with the personal reading activities throughout the week. Students and parents signed family contracts to turn off electronics for 30 minutes a night. Rucci said many parents are planning to continue the activity even after Right to Read is over.
Students were also excited to visit the West Moon Base, a comfortable reading area outside Rucci’s classroom. While reading, second-grader Brittany Solomon paused.
“I love to read — it’s fun and it teaches me things I didn’t know before,” she said.
“That makes all of the planning worth it,” Rucci told Solomon with a smile.