MERRIMAC — Superintendent Justin Bartholomew and Principal Stephanie Dembro are pleased to share that award-winning author Holly DiBella-McCarthy recently visited students at Sweetsir School.
DiBella-McCarthy visited Sweetsir School on Oct. 16. During her visit, she read her books “Dilly Duck Plays All Day” and “Dilly Duck Plans a Parade” to pre-school and kindergarten students.
“Dilly Duck Plays All Day” is a counting, friendship, and rhyming picture book written to expand pre-reading skills, math skills, and emotional vocabulary for children ages 3-6. In “Dilly Duck Plans a Parade” children learn about compassion, color and creativity as Billy Beaver – who has color-blindness – learns to use his senses to find color for the big parade; children learn about empathy and the true meaning of friendship with Dilly and her crew.
“‘Dilly Duck Plans a Parade’ is a great way to talk to students about inclusivity and working as a team,” Special Education Teacher Mikayla Philips said. “Billy Beaver is color-blind but that doesn’t stop Dilly from including him in her parade fun! The kids at Sweetsir enjoyed connecting this to our core value of being inclusive!”
“Students enjoyed having a special reader and were engaged during the story. Several follow up activities were available that offered practice with skills we have been working on, including counting out ducks to match a numeral and rhyming,” said Pre-school Teacher Tracey McCarthy. “They also enjoyed acting out a related song and have been singing that song in class during play time the remainder of the week!”
After reading her books, DiBella-McCarthy engaged students in hands-on learning activities.
“My picture books are written to make learning fun for children and the adults who read to them,” said DiBella-McCarthy. “At Sweetsir School, the staff and teachers welcomed me warmly, and the students were engaged while practicing grade level concepts. It was a fabulous experience.”
DiBella-McCarthy is a former special education teacher and public-school administrator specializing in pre-reading skill development. To learn more about DiBella-McCarthy and her award-winning work, visit her website at hollydibellamccarthy.com.
“We were delighted to have Holly come to Sweetsir and read to our students,” said Principal Dembro. “She is a wonderful and talented author, and her books bring so much joy to our school community.”
