Wells-Ogunquit Celebration of Reading Day resumes as an “in-person” event

With Covid-19 protocols still in place, the annual Wells-Ogunquit CSD’s decades-old Celebration of Reading Day was held at Wells Elementary School and Wells Junior High School on March 4th.


This year, forty-seven community members along with six Wells Rotary Club members, and six Wells High School Interact Club members volunteered to participate. The Rotarians and high school students read and interacted with 5th-grade students at the junior high while the community group consisting of parents, Wells PD officers, current and former WOCSD staff and others visited WES classrooms throughout the school day.


"It was so nice to have the guest readers visit the classrooms in person this year,” commented Community Resource Coordinator Maryanne Foley who has planned and recruited volunteer readers for this event for the past 28 years. “The staff and students missed having visitors in the school. Hopefully next year, they will not have to wear masks!" Due to the pandemic, participating readers in the 2021 reading event read to students via Zoom.


Typically, Celebration of Reading Day is scheduled for the first week in March so as to coincide as closely as possible with the March 2nd birthday of Theodor Geisel (1904-1991) also known by millions from his pen name, Dr. Seuss, author of 60 plus books including “The Cat in the Hat” and “Oh, the Places You'll Go!”


At Wells Elementary School each classroom was visited by one or more community guest readers. Two of those readers included Matt Tavares who read the children’s book he authored, “Growing Up Pedro" and Jocelyn M. Lacey who read the book she wrote titled, "What Do Police Officers Do?"


In the afternoon there were special visits to the elementary school by popular Dr. Seuss characters, Cat in the Hat and Thing One and Thing Two. And this year, Spiderman (aka, Sean Roche, a graduate of WHS ) made a first appearance at this event.


Interact members who read to fifth-graders included Pieper Shead, Zach Naffah, Amelia Rider, Kylie Corbett, Willa Ferris, and Eli Potter. These students were each paired with a Wells Rotarian including Danielle DeFelice, Scott DeFelice. Eleanor Vadenais, Nate Mayo, Martha Fava, and Doug Bibber. The Wells Rotary Club purchased all of the books that members read. The books were then donated to the school library.


Cat in the Hat (WOCSD staff member Nancy Cotty), with Thing One (WHS student Lia Lord-Rozeff), and Thing Two (WHS student Letica Martinez).