Children at the Brentwood Academy waited patiently Friday, March 18. It wasn’t long before their patience was rewarded and the sound of drums and other instruments could be heard from their street. The students from Mount Vernon High School (MVHS) were on their way.
FOR THE SECOND year in a row, the students were participating in the “Too Short to be a Parade” parade. The brainchild of Hailey Fisher’s mother, who is a physical education teacher at MVHS, students from various school organizations participate in the parade as part of a community outreach event.
Children lined the circular driveway, clapping and cheering as the MVHS students made the very short walk from the high school to the Brentwood Academy. Led by the principal, Eric Brent, Harry Sprouse, head librarian, Karla Mancia and Pete Sienkiewicz, business teacher, the group made several loops around the driveway, playing music, handing out candy and balloons and shaking hands with the children.
“We have a whole lot of fun with this,” Sprouse said. “The whole thing is ‘Reading Across America.’ We promote reading and have fun. It works out for us and for them.”
The parade is part of The Reading Across America Initiative at Mount Vernon High School. Events like this nationwide are supported by The National Education Association and are designed to encourage literacy among children. The event marks Dr. Seuss' birthday. It was supposed to be held earlier in the month, but was delayed due to the weather.
“It’s wonderful, the kids really look forward to this,” said Susan Pnevmatikatos, director/owner of Brentwood Academy.
After the parade, MVHS students read Dr. Seuss books to the Brentwood Academy students in multiple languages. They also directed the younger students through simple sets of instructions to do fun things such as physical activity skills, teamwork activities, interactive computer simulations and playing the Seuss Band instruments.