Grier Celebrates International Read Aloud Day

This past Friday, February 7th, Grier celebrated National Read Aloud Day by taking a community service trip to a local school, Tyrone Elementary, to read stories in pairs with one student reading in English and the other reading in a foreign language. There were 29 girls who went with a total of eight different languages: Russian, French, German, Amharic, Spanish, Vietnamese, Arabic, and English. The elementary students ranged in grade levels from kindergarten to third graders.

Sophomore Mya Beisel, a local to the Tyrone area, spoke from her personal experience about exposure to other cultures saying, “some people in the area have never had the chance to travel and hear other languages.” When asked about why it is special to her as a local to get to work with her partner, junior Y Le, to share a foreign language with the kids she said, “Having lived in a rural Pennsylvania town, a lot of kids don’t get to experience other cultures the way we do at Grier.”

Sophomores, Angelena Mack from Pennsylvania and Aysu Asgarova from Saint Petersburg, Russia, shared their experience with reading to the first graders in both English and Russian. “I absolutely loved it,” Asgarova said. “I got to teach them silly words in Russian like animals and the words for your family. I would definitely do it again.” Mack also shared her thoughts saying, “The kids were very fun to talk to and were excited to learn about another culture.”

Seniors, Emily Frantz from California and Katie Payne from New Jersey read to kindergarten students in English and French. When asked about what she and the kids gained from the experience Frantz said, “I gained patience around little kids who are still unsure of how to behave in social situations. The kids learned about another language, who to ask questions and how to be engaged in an activity.” Payne shared that “the children had many silly questions which made it more fun.” 

Grier’s Librarian, Ms. Dunklebarger, said she came up with the community service activity when reflecting on how to celebrate National Read Aloud Day. “I saw it was National Read Aloud Day and thought it would be a great way for Grier girls to share their culture.” In regards to how the community service went, Dunklebarger said, “I thought it was awesome, lots of laughter and smiles all around, which is a great example of the Grier community.” She was then asked if she hopes Grier will continue sharing cultures and languages through National Read Aloud Day. “Yes definitely,” she responded. “Tyrone has already said they would love to have us back, which is great.”

National Read Aloud Day was a great success for both the Grier students and the Tyrone elementary children. The kids were able to learn something new and the Grier students brightened their local community.