Portsmouth students do so like reading!

Melville, Hathaway students celebrate Reading Week with Seussian flair

By Jim McGaw
Posted 3/15/18

PORTSMOUTH — The Cat in the Hat was in the house Monday for Melville School’s Reading Week. Well, his spirit was there anyway, as was his headwear.

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Portsmouth students do so like reading!

Melville, Hathaway students celebrate Reading Week with Seussian flair

Posted

PORTSMOUTH — The Cat in the Hat was in the house Monday for Melville School’s Reading Week. 

Well, his spirit was there anyway, as was his headwear. 

Melville planned a full week of activity as part of the National Education Association’s Read Across America campaign. (Hathaway School celebrated the week before.)

“There are activities going on each day, based on a Dr. Seuss book,” said second-grade teacher Susan Frost.

Monday, for example, was “Cat in the Hat” day, so students were asked to wear a crazy hat. For “Wacky Wednesday” they were encouraged to come in with crazy hair and wear green on “Green Eggs and Ham” day on Friday.

On Monday, Town Council President Keith Hamilton, who went to high school with Ms. Frost, stopped by to read “Green Eggs and Ham” to three classes. (The original plan was for him to read “A Cat in the Hat,” but the council president said he preferred the other book.)

After he was done reading about Sam-I-Am, Mr. Hamilton explained his role on the Town Council — “We set up general guidelines and laws for the Town of Portsmouth and we manage the money” — and then entertained a few questions from the students.

“Did you work on the Superman Building?” one boy asked, referring to the Industrial National Bank Building in Providence.

“I did not work on the Superman Building,” Mr. Hamilton replied.

Since she had a town representative right in front of her, one student used the opportunity to lodge a complaint. She told Mr. Hamilton that snowplows clearing the road in front of her home had buried her sled in the snow during Winter Storm Grayson in January. 

Hopefully, she remembered to put it away on Tuesday.

The students said they loved Dr. Seuss’ books mainly for the fun wordplay.

“I like his tongue-twister books,” said Andrew Gray. Sitting nearby, Jack Sullivan-Calhoun added, “He writes some funny books.”

“I like his rhymes — and he’s funny,” said Karely Deloya Marban.

Several students said “Green Eggs and Ham” was their favorite Dr. Seuss book. A few of them, like Jazmine Smith, had even tried the dish.

“The ham wasn’t green, but the eggs were,” said Jazmine, a fan of only one half of the dish. “The eggs were nasty, but I liked the ham.”

Melville School, Hathaway School, Portsmouth School Department

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Jim McGaw

A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.