Pictured: Kindergartner Jack Tarr was excited to show sixth grader Luca Bicocchi how well he can read.
Photos courtesy of the North Bellmore School District
World Read Aloud Day in the North Bellmore School District on Feb. 2 wasn’t just about fostering a love of literacy. There were also messages of acceptance and inclusion, as principals at the five schools read “Just Ask: Be Different, Be Brave, Be You.”
Newbridge Road Elementary School Principal Amanda Licci read “Just Ask: Be Different, Be Brave, Be You” during a schoolwide read aloud through Zoom on Feb. 2.
Newbridge Road Elementary School Principal Amanda Licci read the book during a morning Zoom assembly, with students and teachers watching from their classrooms. “Just Ask,” written by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and illustrated by Rafael Lopez, celebrates the different abilities of people and validates the natural curiosities of children. Ms. Licci explained that when kids ask questions about something that is different, it isn’t out of malice but out of a desire to understand and accept. The book teaches how to ask those questions respectfully.
Sixth graders, from left, Ella Mollica, Sophia Guarascio, Sheyla Cruz and Michael Marrero are part of the Spirit Club which did a read aloud recording of “Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch.”
“Many of the issues that the author addresses, in a developmentally appropriate way, kids can connect to,” Ms. Licci said.
After the schoolwide read aloud, Ms. Licci then visited classrooms to spread a love of books. JoAnn Belferder’s second graders were treated to a reading of “Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School” by Mark Teague.
Chris Bahamonde, a sixth grader in the ALPHA program, read with kindergartners Gabriella Grosso, left, and Danelis Tavares.
Before the lunchtime bustle began, kindergartners and sixth graders met in the cafeteria to read together. Youngsters from Mary Yager’s class brought their favorite books and were paired with buddies from Gayle Angert’s ALPHA class, which included sixth graders from both Newbridge Road and Saw Mill Road schools. The kindergartners were proud to showcase their reading abilities to their older friends.
Ms. Licci read “Dear Mrs. LaRue” to a second grade class.
The day concluded with a spirit assembly and another read aloud. Students gathered in the gymnasium and watched a recording of sixth graders from the Spirit Club read “Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch” by Eileen Spinelli. The recording was made with support from instructional coach Danielle Calapai. At the end of the assembly, each student received a paper heart to eventually pass along to someone else and spread love in the school or at home.
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