Read Across America Resounds Through Maplewood Middle School

On Wednesday, March 2, Maplewood Middle School joined with other schools and libraries all over the country to celebrate the 14th Annual Read Across America.

Guest readers were welcomed from the parent community, faculty and administration. A number of current and past members of the Maplewood Township Committee and Board of Education member Andrea Wren-Hardin as well as local celebrities participated by sharing a favorite reading to a class of students. The goal was to have every student in the company of a guest reader over the course of the school day to reinforce the joy of leisure reading — a habit that can easily be established by reading for 20 minutes a day. 

Warm-from-the-oven breakfast treats were provided by the Able Baker, Julie Pauly, while her husband Thomas entertained their daughter’s class with a reading of Pink and Say.

Township Committee Person Jerry Ryan read to Mr. Palmgren's sixth grade Social Studies class. "I read a passage from Jon Krakauer's WHERE MEN WIN GLORY," said Ryan. "It's the story of Pat Tillman and the war in Afghanistan. I was told that in language arts they're reading about courage, and that they're studying U.S. history... so I figure'd it would fit."

Hank Zona of Swirl Wine Events kept his presentation sober but fun. (Zona is also the parent of an MMS student.) "I read to Roger Johnson's 8th grade 2nd period science class," said Zona. "Being that they are 8th graders, I decided to read a lot of shorter pieces rather than one book. It was fun because as I looked around the class, I told them that I had read to some of them at Morrow preschool, some of them at Tuscan, and now this group on the verge of high school."  

Zona's list?

• a piece from "The Physics of Super Heroes" (it was a science class)
• a piece on girls from "The Dangerous Book for Boys"
• a piece on how to shake hands from "How To Dad"
• excerpts from Mario Cuomo's 1984 keynote address
• a piece on the history of the Jersey Devil from "Weird N.J."
• "Desiderata"
• "Advice, Like Youth, Probably Just Wasted On The Young" ("Wear Sunscreen") by Mary Schmich of the Chicago Tribune
• a couple of poems by Billy Collins  

MMS librarian Patricia Giese took all the attached pictures and provided some of the copy here as well. As Ms. Griese said, "Students and readers enjoyed all the places they went…. through the pages of a book."