Learning comes alive

May 07, 2008 05:27 pm

— By Philip Navarrette
reporter@trcle.com

At Cooke Elementary School on Tuesday, books came to life, and characters mingled with students as the campus celebrated its annual Author’s Day celebration.
Throughout the day students took a break from everyday classroom activities to go to different rooms and be entertained by authors, book characters and presenters.
P.E. teacher Tammy Blair said she had a blast being part of the fun. Blair dressed up as the wicked Viola Swamp from Harry Allard’s “Miss Nelson Is Missing!” and acted out the book with help from P.E. paraprofessionals Jolene Foster and Heather Williams and counselor Walter Harris.
“I love it,” Blair said. “I don’t usually get to read to them, so it’s fun.”
The day was also special for two particular students who won the Author’s Day T-shirt design contest.
The art entries from second-grader Stephanie Montelongo and third-grader Caleb Howard were combined to make this year’s shirt.
Montelongo said her inspiration to put famed cat character Skippyjon Jones on a shirt was simple:
“It makes me laugh,” she said.
“She’s a very good artist,” second-grade teacher Jane Burton said.
Montelongo’s father is a former newspaper cartoonist, and when it was announced her art had won, her parents were just as happy as she was, she said.
Howard’s word art made it onto the shirt as the phrase “Books that make you laugh out loud.”
The words originally accompanied different art, but Howard said he was still excited to learn he had won the T-shirt contest.
Along with the prestige, Montelongo and Howard earned $25 gift cards to Wal-Mart.

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