Apr 24, 2003 4 min read

Activities that reinforce the importance of literacy will be part of the sixth annual Mon Valley Reads 2003, a regional event organized and coordinated by the Mon Valley Education Consortium. Scheduled to run from April 28 to May 2, this celebration of reading, stretches across the five counties (Allegheny, Fayette, Washington, Westmoreland and Greene) in which the consortium works and involves 20 school districts, 46 schools and more than 22,000 students in kindergarten through grade 12.

A rundown of local activities follows:

Marion Elementary School, Belle Vernon, will dedicate this day to the work of Mr. Rogers, to build literacy. Students will be asked to dress like Mr. Rogers and activities will center around the concepts he encouraged.

At Rostraver Elementary School, Belle Vernon, high school students will visit and read to various classrooms. Each classroom will receive surprise visits throughout the day.

Belle Vernon Area High School faculty and staff will read for 42 minutes during Period Four.

Bethlehem-Center High School students will dress in 1960s clothes, bring blankets to sit on, and spend 30 minutes in the courtyard reading and being read to by other students and faculty members.

Bethlehem-Center Middle School librarian will sponsor a poetry reading and the Fredericktown Public Library librarian will participate and attend. She will have a display and loan out poetry books from her library. The middle school librarian will have band students accompany the middle school students with soft background music while they are reading poems for one hour of reading outside on blankets.

Brownsville Area School District’s Cardale Elementary School will bring together foreign exchange students and local students who have studied abroad to talk with the students about their experiences and discuss what role reading has in their lives. Community members will discuss with the students why reading is important in their jobs and daily lives.

At Brownsville’s Cox-Donahey Elementary School, parents and community members will read selections to students in classrooms or library throughout the day. Each class will have at least one guest reader.

Redstone Middle School language Arts teachers are doing a program on “Mon Valley Reads” in the auditorium. Each teacher is having his/her students demonstrate activities that reinforce reading skills that follow the benchmarks.

Frazier School District’s Central Elementary School and Perry Elementary School, in celebration of National Poetry Month, will have students reading their favorite poems. This will be followed by the telling of the Indian legend “The Song of the Hermit Thrush.”

At Frazier Middle School, guest readers will read a short story to all students. Readers will stop the story before the end and have the students write possible endings. Students will share their ideas. Readers will then read the true ending. Students in sixth grade will be given the opportunity to read a book and eat lunch in the Commodore Commons, an outdoor area in the center of the school that is maintained and landscaped by the Ecology Club.

Frazier High School’s librarian will share a short story with the students who sign up for this activity. Students will then be allowed to fish for bags that contain paperback books and treats.

At Carmichaels Jr./Sr. High School, one student from each grade level, a vo-tech student and a learning support student will read an excerpt from a short story, poem, mythology and other genres. These students will be pre-recorded by the school district’s local network, Carmichaels Area News Network (CANN). Student’s readings will be aired the first 10 minutes of each class period on April 28.

Southeastern Greene School District’s Bobtown Elementary School will have the administration, school board members, and community leaders read to students.

Mapletown Jr./Sr. High School will host a Scholastic Book Fair all week, consisting of displays, games and prizes. Wednesday, April 30, students will “Drop Everything and Read” for 15 minutes at 8:30 a.m.