Mesquite ISD Read Play Talk Magazine Fall 2017 | Page 24

READPLAYTALK FORMS
FRIENDSHIPS
M
cKenzie Elementary’s relationship with the Goodbar Center connected to
its gym is not what it used to be. It’s even better.
Hosting affordable after-school care for
McKenzie students, Goodbar Recreation Center
also does double duty as an activity center
for seniors earlier in the day. Since September
2016, Goodbar seniors have been visiting classes
bimonthly to read to McKenzie kindergarteners
and first-graders.
Inspired by RPT, principal Aimee Lewis said Sally
Jo Parise readily accepted Lewis’ invitation to
recruit Goodbar seniors to read at McKenzie.
Parise, Goodbar’s senior program supervisor, is
joined by about 10 seniors in this effort.
Page 24
“You can see the excitement on the students’
faces when the guest readers come,” said Lewis.
“Many students start scooting closer and closer
and almost end up in the reader’s lap. I love
watching the interactions, and it seems the
seniors get just as much enjoyment from this time
together as the students do.”
“I think back to my childhood and remember
my grandparents always reading to me,” said
Lewis. “Some of our students do not have
grandparents near, and some of these seniors
have grandchildren who are older or who do not