Courtesy Photo | Sgt. 1st Class Elevlyn Barajas, a noncommissioned officer with the 402nd Field...... read more read more
By 1st Lt. Vanessa Dudley
1st Battalion, 361st Regiment, 5th Armored Brigade, Division West Public Affairs
EL PASO, Texas - “Do you like green eggs and ham? I do not like them, Sam-I-am,” said Staff Sgt. Alsherdan Lopez, a noncommissioned officer with the 402nd Field Artillery Brigade, to the 1st grade students of Presa Elementary School.
Lopez, along with three other soldiers from the same unit as well as the 5th Armored Brigade, joined together March 6 here for the school’s week long celebration of Dr. Seuss’s birthday for the annual Read Across America event.
The event, which usually falls on the school day closest to March 2, encourages adults to pick up a book and read to a child, showing children the importance of reading in their lives.
While this is usually a one day occasion, Presa Elementary takes it a step further, and has reading sessions and activities for a full week of classes. Each day of the week is themed, which this year included a crazy hair day, clothes inside out day, and a character day, where kids can come to school dressed as a Dr. Seuss character.
The school invites local authors, FBI agents, soldiers from Fort Bliss, and dressed-up characters from Dr. Seuss’s books to come in and take part in the festivities.
“I thought, what an awesome and positive influence that the speakers have on the kids,” said Gabriella Barnes, Presa Elementary school project coordinator. “They see that reading isn’t just about teachers telling them that they have to read, but that people they admire read as well.”
The soldiers were able to pick from a selection of books, to include all of Dr. Seuss’s common favorites, before heading to a classroom to read. As the soldiers stepped into the classrooms with their books at their sides to read, the children whispered amongst themselves in barely-contained awe. After reading to the kids, the soldiers were bombarded with questions about their everyday lives as soldiers before heading to another class to repeat the experience.
“Growing up, I wish someone like soldiers or law enforcement had come to my school to read to us, said Lopez. “It was a good experience to be able to pass down some knowledge, as the kids had lots of questions for me.”
Other guests for the week included local author Phillip Cortez and Dr. Anna Perez, the interim superintendent for the Ysleta Independent School District.
“One of the things that I really enjoy is reading, and as a child, that is what opened up the world for me,” said Perez. “So I wanted that opportunity to share that with the children.”
While the Read Across America event is over for the year, the soldiers of the 402nd Field Artillery and 5th Armored Brigade hope they have left a lasting impression on the students of Presa Elementary School, or at least until they can come back next year and gift them again with the imaginative and creative words of Dr. Seuss.
| Date Taken: | 03.06.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 03.18.2014 14:15 |
| Story ID: | 122179 |
| Location: | EL PASO, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 43 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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