Highlands Elementary Hosts Seussapalooza Reading DayMatt Boster
DOTHAN – Do you remember your favorite book as a kid? Was it Green Eggs and Ham? Or Good Night Moon? Where the Wild Things Are? You probably remember it, just as well as you remember sitting in your mom’s lap reading it, or swinging in the hammock with it, or sitting on the back porch. Books are not just wonderful stories and fanciful escapes, they provide the basic building blocks of language and education, and they are fundamental to learning.
That’s why Highlands Elementary officials are thrilled to present their new reading-themed spring fundraising event, Seussapalooza. The giant Dr. Seuss-themed event will celebrate the literary legacy of Dr. Seuss on the final day of Read Across America week, Friday, March 7. Highlands students will engage in Seusserific activities, including listening to celebrity readers, playing Seuss-themed games and making Seuss-themed crafts, and the day will culminate in a book character costume parade. Combining individual student sponsorships with community and corporate sponsors, Highlands Elementary will use the funds raised during Seussapalooza to purchase two classroom iPad carts to be shared throughout the school, at a cost of approximately $31,000.
Highlands Elementary School is the only non-magnet school within the Dothan City School system that does not qualify to receive Title I (federal funds) for serving high poverty students. While other Dothan City Schools may receive in excess of $300,000 per year for technology, personnel and other student expenditures, Highlands relies on fundraising efforts to meet these same needs.
The use of iPads in the classroom has revolutionized teaching methods and has proven extremely beneficial for teacher/student collaborative education. New technology combines the innovation of the iPad with our school’sinteractive white boards for the ultimate combination of education and technology.
Seusspalooza activities will begin at 9 a.m. and continue until noon, when the students will break for lunch. Weather permitting, the students will participate in a book character costume parade outside the school, led by the Dothan High band, at approximately 1:30 p.m.