Winterhawks Players Visit Elementary Schools Wednesday for Read Across America Day
Portland Winterhawks players visited five local elementary schools as part of the national Read Across America Day Wednesday. There, the players helped the children celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday by reading to them in their classrooms. Many of the players also participated in reading-themed assemblies to promote literacy and talk to the students about the importance of reading.
Winterhawks defenseman Jack Dougherty visited Vestal Elementary with teammates Keoni Texeira and Rihards Bukarts as the trio read Dr. Seuss’ “Fox in Socks” book for Vestal’s special “Winterhawks in Socks” themed assembly.
“It was great to show up there with our jerseys on and see all the smiles on those kids’ faces, showing them that reading is a good thing and it’s beneficial,” Dougherty said. “It was good to go out there and be an inspiration for those kids.”
At King Elementary in North Portland, goaltender Adin Hill and forward Tanner Nagel read books about hockey to first and second-grade classrooms, teaching many of the students about the game of hockey for the first time. Down the hall, the sound of children’s laughter erupted from a third grade classroom as forward Alex Schoenborn read the Dr. Seuss book “Scrambled Eggs Super!”
“It was fun, the kids were really excited. I found out that Dr. Seuss books are a lot harder to read than I remember,” said Schoenborn. “It was good, the kids seemed really happy that we came so it was a good experience overall.”
Winterhawks Rodrigo Abols and Caleb Jones visited Peninsula Elementary where they read “Where’s my hockey sweater?” and Dr. Seuss’ “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” to a cafeteria packed full of students from Kindergarten through fourth grade.
“We thought it would be fitting to have [the Winterhawks] talk about their experiences with reading and inspire them with Dr. Seuss,” said Rebecca Gregor, a Kindergarten teacher at Peninsula Elementary.
This year, the Winterhawks began its partnership with Portland Public Schools in support of the district’s priority goal that all students read by third grade.
As part of the team’s overall support with Portland Public Schools for the Read Together Initiative, Oregon College Savings Plan provided soft hockey pucks as a souvenir for the students read with the Winterhawks in their school assemblies and in classrooms
“The Oregon College Savings Plan values education at every level. We especially recognize the importance of early education and the benefits of reading at grade level by 3rd grade,” said Oregon College Savings Plan Executive Director Michael Parker. “We are proud to partner with the Portland Winterhawks in their support of Portland Public Schools’ Read Together Initiative. Go Hawks!”
In addition to the Read Across America Day visits, the Winterhawks hosted a Book Drive at a game in early January with the help of Portland Public Schools. The Book Drive, in its first year, collected nearly 800 children’s books to benefit the Children’s Book Harvest, and raised over $3,000 for PPS Head Start’s Family Literacy Program.