PCES recognizes October HEROs
GUILFORD — More than two dozen students in the younger grades at Piscataquis Community Elementary School are now HEROs for their outstanding conduct. The HERO honorees were recognized with the presentation of certificates during the elementary morning meeting on Thursday, Oct. 24.
PCES K-4 pupils earn recognition in honesty, effort, respect or responsibility and/or others — showing concern and caring for others — and by doing so they get to be HEROs (the honor is an acronym for the criteria). Up to several HERO students are chosen per grade by the teachers.
With the student body gathered in the gymnasium to start the day Assistant Principal Jessica Dunton said, “We have seen a lot of good stuff around school from you guys and the teachers are seeing some good things in the classroom.”
Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
OCTOBER HEROS OF PCES — More than two dozen October HERO honorees in kindergarten through grade 4 at Piscataquis Community Elementary School in Guilford were recognized on Oct. 24 Students are selected for exhibiting honesty, effort, respect or responsibility and/or showing concern and caring for others.
She then called each HERO honoree down from the bleachers to receive their certificates and be recognized by the audience.
The October HERO recipients include kindergarten: Aden Chase, Emma Crocker, Levi Merrill and Zayden Prew; grade 1: Mahala Hayden, Jena LaCroix, Rylee Libera, Mason Martell, Abel Richardson and Harper Stevens; grade 2: Peyton Bradley, Olivia Coburn, Jenna Grant, Brooklyn Mozsgae and Bradley Thomas; grade 3: Alexis Ames, Nate Beckwith, Emilynn Brown, Logan Colella, Alessandra Long and Raegan Snowden; and grade 4: Jonah Brown, Ava Edes, Alivia Koscielny and Dantae Michaud.
The morning meeting also kicked off the annual Valley Grange Bookworms program as for more than a decade volunteers from the organization have been coming to Piscataquis Community Elementary School (and previously at the former Guilford Primary School) to share their love of books with second- and third-graders as the pupils spend time reading a book of their choice to the adult visitors.
“One of them will be coming every Tuesday and Thursday,” Valley Grange Lecturer and Program Director Walter Boomsma told the students about this year’s seven Valley Grange Bookworms. “One at a time, each of you will get a turn to read to a Bookworm. We don’t read to you, you read to us and you get to pick the book.”
Boomsma asked the students to be thinking about their reading selections, mentioning he likes joke books, so they have good books picked out when it is their turn to read aloud. Bookworm visits rotate by classroom during the school year, with students selected by their teachers to read for about 15 minutes per pupil.
A question from the audience wondered why the reading volunteers are called bookworms?
Pointing to the worm and apple logo on his shirt, Boomsma responded, “We are kind of like a worm, we really like to get into books so it’s kind of like wiggling into books and having a really great time.”