Valley Stream school celebrates Dr. Seuss's birthday

“Welcome to Seussville” banners, along with red and white balloons, greeted children as they walked into the William L. Buck School on March 2. It would have been author Dr. Seuss’s 108th birthday and it was celebrated with great fanfare at the District 24 elementary school.

Each class was visited by a guest reader during the day, who shared a Dr. Seuss tale. And every room also got its own Seuss-themed address, whether it was Mulberry Street, Cat in the Hat Circle or Thing One and Thing Two Way, just to name a few. And parents made snacks that would have made Dr. Seuss proud, including “Cat in the Hat” cupcakes and Jello with red fish and blue fish (candy, of course).

But perhaps the highlight of the day was a visit from the Cat in the Hat himself, a.k.a. reading teacher Richard Kerin. In full costume, he visited every class and talked about the popular childrens’ book author. He also spoke to the students about their favorite Dr. Seuss books.

“I have never gotten dressed up as the Cat in the Hat before,” Kerin said, “but for the students of our building, we wanted to do something extra special. It’s an elementary building. Kids deserve a fun environment.”

The purpose of the day, according to Kerin and fellow reading teacher Carol Cannonito, was to get children excited about literature. “We are really emphasizing how important it is to read,” Cannonito said.

The morning began with Principal Mark Onorato getting on the loudspeaker and leading students in the Read Across America Reader’s Oath. Cannonito said that standing in the hallway, she could hear it being recited in every classroom.

Teachers were given an activity packet with suggested activities to celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday. The two second-grade classes got together to play Dr. Seuss jeopardy, answering questions about his popular books.

Onorato, after reading “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street” to third-grade students, engaged them in a discussion on using mental imagery while reading. “Certainly, every Dr. Seuss book lends to everyone’s imagination,” he said.

Third grader Luke Costanzo said he enjoyed the book and how the main character, Marco, used his imagination to devise an elaborate fantasy story. “It was very funny,” Luke said.

The reading celebration, which concluded at 2:30 p.m. with all students singing “Happy Birthday” in unison, also got students thinking about their favorite Dr. Seuss books. For Luke, he likes “The Cat in the Hat Comes Back.”

“All of them are great,” he said of Dr. Seuss books. “They rhyme a lot and the pictures are really funny.”

Fellow third-grade Colette Tourney admits she is partial to “Green Eggs and Ham” because it shows what an imagination Dr. Seuss had. “He does whatever he wants with the books,” she said. “Whatever he thinks, he just does.”

Cannonito said her favorite Dr. Seuss book is “One Fish, Two Fish.” And for librarian Karen Mylan, it’s “Yertle the Turtle.” Mylan says that Dr. Seuss’s birthday is one of her favorite days of the year because it makes school fun. “The focus is so much on testing these days,” she said.

Onorato agreed, and said one of the most important responsibilities of educators is to encourage students to read.

Throughout the day, Onorato said he enjoyed seeing the smiles on the faces of children as they celebrated Dr. Seuss’s birthday through a variety of activities. And he couldn’t contain his own smile every time he saw Kerin in costume. “I love today,” Onorato said. “How many days do you get to go into work and see the Cat in the Hat?”