By Debbie Adams
Students at Herman L. Horn Elementary School in Vinton celebrated “Read Across America
Week” March 3-7. Each day students and staff were encouraged to dress for the occasion,
depending upon the theme of the day. On Monday, “Cat in the Hat Day,” they were asked to
“wear stripes with your favorite hat or hair accessory.” On Tuesday they wore green for “Green
Eggs and Ham Day.” On “Wacky Wednesday” they could wear their clothes backwards, inside
out or mismatched. Thursday was “Thing One & Thing Two Day!” when they were asked to
grab a friend and dress up as twins.
Special guests were scheduled for Friday, Read Across America Day. Members of the Vinton
Breakfast Lions Club, the William Byrd High School Leo Club (sponsored by the Breakfast
Lions), and WBHS student athletes stopped by to read one of their own favorite books. On that
day, students and staff were asked to dress as their favorite book character.
Herman L. Horn.
HLH.
Read Across America Day was launched in 1998 by the National Education Association and
remains the nation’s largest celebration of reading, with millions participating each year. Read
Across America Day calls upon everyone to read and engage with children to make reading a
more fun and interactive experience.
The nationwide celebration takes place annually near the March 2 birthday of children’s author
and cartoonist Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known by his pen name, Dr. Seuss. The day
encourages children to experience the joys of reading.
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more
places you’ll go,” Geisel wrote in one of his books.
March was also chosen for the observance because March is traditionally designated as National
Reading Month.
Vinton Breakfast Lions Club members who read to students at Herman L. Horn included Vinton
Mayor Brad Grose, Jeff Stovall, Gary Myers, John Berry, Chris McCarty, Dave Jones, Sam Cundiff, School Board representative Tim Greenway, Zach McCarty, Peggy Stovall, Jeff Mason, Anthony Carter and Justin Fix.
The Breakfast Lions were joined by student athletes and Leo Club members from the William
Byrd High School, including Leo Club members Emma Rupe, Anna Carter, Emily Glass, Sofia
Gonzalez, Raelyn Lancaster, Ellawyn Pagan, and Lucy Whitenack, and student athletes Emily
Fisher, Kassius Ayers, Spencer Peters, Ryleigh Grubb, Kaylee Hayes, Kendall Gordon, Lilly
Carrell, Taylor Jacobsen, Virginia Yonce, Brogan Dent, and Carson Wood.
The readers either brought their selections with them or picked from books made available at the
school, including many Dr. Seuss books.
The guests read to Pre-K through fifth grade students for about 15 minutes each and then
answered questions the students had about their books or about themselves.
Read Across America Day at HLH was coordinated by Reading Specialist Dorr Booan.
~Vinton Messenger staff report
