Mepham seniors spread love of literacy

Children attending two Merrick schools recently received two gifts from Mepham High School students: a buddy and a book.

Students in Mepham’s Senior Experience program visited Birch and Norman J. Levy-Lakeside elementary schools in the Merrick School District for the first time last fall to become reading buddies to first-grade students. Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District officials said the event was the first in a series of visits to the elementary schools.

Before the session, seniors in Marc Achtziger’s and Sarah Bender’s Senior Experience classes learned about the importance of promoting literacy in their community. In addition to being a hands-on program that allows graduating seniors to choose a field of interest and work with professionals in that field, Senior Experience has a charitable focus, officials said.

The philanthropic initiative places books in the hands of young children. The organizers explained that the idea behind the Reading Buddies program, specifically, is to promote a lifelong love of reading among elementary-age students.

When the “big buddies” met their “little buddies” for the first time, the pairs interviewed one another and created a Venn diagram of their similarities and differences. The students followed up by reading the first-graders’ favorite books and discussing them.