PUHI — The Activities Room at the Regency at Puakea literally buzzed as 23 third grade students started reading their books Wednesday. The Island School third grade students, with Lynda Liesse as their teacher, visited the assisted living facility in
PUHI — The Activities Room at the Regency at Puakea literally buzzed as 23 third grade students started reading their books Wednesday.
The Island School third grade students, with Lynda Liesse as their teacher, visited the assisted living facility in Puhi to read to the residents as part of National Young Readers Week.
Liesse said this was not the first time the students visited the Regency to read aloud to the residents.
“We first started coming here about three years ago when my mother was a resident here,” Liesse said. “That was when Island School celebrated its anniversary and each class had to do a community service project.”
She said the residents really appreciated having the students visit, and since then the students have been visiting regularly.
“This is such a wonderful event to promote literacy as well as promoting care and respect for our kupuna,” said Sharon Lasker, the Regency’s marketing director. “Did you see how the faces of the residents lit up? They bring their own books from the school’s library and read to residents everywhere.”
Liesse said the Regency found out it was National Young Readers Week and asked if the students could come and read aloud to the residents.
“We have 23 students who are really amazing,” Liesse said. “Over the weekend, they were joined by their parents and sold food at the Veterans Day parade celebration to help pay for their trip to O‘ahu coming up in May. Today, they’re reading to the Regency residents.”
She said the class is made up primarily of boys, 18 of them, and five girls.
“They are a delight to have because not only do they have a heart for what happens to each other, but they also worry about what happens to other people,” Liesse said. “Having the students visit the Regency residents helps get them ready for when they visit the long-term residents at G.N. Wilcox Memorial Hospital where they not only read, but play games and interact with the residents.”
National Young Readers Week is an annual event which was co-founded in 1989 by Pizza Hut and the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, states the Bookit Program website.
Visit the website www.bookitprogram.com for more information.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@ thegardenisland.com.
