School joins families, books and imaginations

TRENT WOODS — Sleeping Beauty was reading aloud at Albert H. Bangert Elementary School on Thursday night, and the boy wizard Harry Potter and the white-haired wizard Gandalf were spotted roaming the school’s halls.

The fictional characters made an appearance at the school for family reading night, when parents crowded into the school’s library to read with their children while stretched out on the carpet, snuggling in a corner or sitting around circular tables.

The school held the event for the first time during the school’s Children’s Book Week to give parents a glimpse of the students’ life at the school and to encourage families to read together. About 170 students and parents attended, and each family was asked to bring a book to donate to a charity.

“Our goal was just to have a short evening where children could come with their families and just enjoy being together and reading a book,” said Martha Ann Patterson, the school’s Title I teacher who helped organize the event. “Reading is really the basis for everything they learn in school.”

As part of the festivities, 10-year-old Phillip Armentrout dressed as Gandalf from J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings,” and Wyatt Jernigan, 10, dressed as Harry Potter from J.K. Rowling’s popular book series.

“I enjoy it, and most of the books I read are definitely beyond fiction,” Wyatt said, explaining his love for reading. He added that he chose to dress as Harry Potter because he owned a costume from a previous Halloween and because he’s read the series.

Kathryn Midyette leaned against a wall of the library to read the book “Tom Brady” with 7-year-old Tyriec Hinton.

The first-grader chose to read the book about the quarterback for the New England Patriots because he watches football often and because he plays the safety position on a youth football team. But more than that, Tyriec said he just likes to read in general.

 “You learn to read and you get smarter and smarter,” he said.

Midyette works with computers at the school, and her son is in Tyriec’s class. She’s also Tyriec’s “bear buddy,” which means she checks on him at school to make sure he’s staying on track, and to see if he needs anything.

“I think this is a great way to promote reading with children,” she said of Thursday’s event.

Second-grader Austin Ruiz curled up on the floor with his dad Mario to read “Clifford’s Christmas.” Austin said he chose the book because he likes Christmas, as it’s the time of year when he gets “lots of toys.”

Ruiz said he attended the event to help inspire his son to read, although he said his son reads each night to earn points through the Accelerated Reader computer program at the school.

Jennifer Derr Pudwill brought her daughter Lauren, 5, to the event to support the school and her daughter. Pudwill and her daughter read books about princesses, dinosaurs, and animals each night, anyway, as part of their bedtime ritual, but the event put a positive spin on reading.

“Reading is just the basis of everything for their education,” she said.

Laura Oleniacz can be reached at 252-635-5675 or at loleniacz@freedomenc.com.