School welcomes volunteers for Read Aloud day

SALISBURY — An overnight snowfall delayed matters and forced some last-minute juggling of the schedule, but Read Aloud day at Salisbury Central School went ahead as planned Wednesday, Feb. 4.

The volunteer readers — adults from the community — gathered in the library beforehand. A reporter trailed along with First Selectman Curtis Rand to Raydin Neary’s fourth-grade class. “You don’t want me,� said Rand, under his breath. “Get [Selectman Jim] Dresser. He’s better at this stuff.�

Dresser was indeed effective, chatting easily with the second grade before launching into “Bats in the Library.�

And Resident State Trooper Mark Lauretano’s gentle smile got as much attention as his uniform.

Read Aloud day, coordinated by Northwest Connecticut’s Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Howmet Castings in Winsted, an Alcoa business, is designed to stress the importance of reading to elementary school children.

The roster:

Dianna Christinat and Don Mayland read “A Visitor for Bear,� by Bonny Becker and Kady MacDonald Denton, to the first grade; “Gorgonzola,� by Margie Palatini and Tim Bowers, was read by Phyllis Schneider, Malcolm McKenzie and Elyse Morris; Jim Dresser and Eva Yxfeldt entertained grade two with  “Bats at the Library,� by Brian Lies; Lauretano, new Region One Assistant Superintendent Diane Goncalves and Rebecca Gaschel-Clark read  Jim Arnosky’s “Dolphins on the Sand� in third grade classrooms; Brenda Z. Guiberson and Ilya Spirin’s “Ice Bears� was assigned to Rand, state Rep. Roberta Willis and Erin Simmons; Jeff Lloyd read Alice McGill and Jude Daly’s “Way Up and Over Everything� to the fifth grade; and Carl Williams tackled “Night Running,� by Elisa Carbone and Earl B. Lewis, with grade six.

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