Saturday, February 04 2012 18:05
By GCounty Now

GLASSBORO – The Cat in the Hat made a stop at Glassboro's Thomas E. Bowe School this Friday, February 3 to help fourth grade students kick off the annual Read Across America celebration. Fourth graders came to the event armed with their favorite Dr. Seuss stuffed toys, and cheered as the Cat danced to some favorite tunes. To underscore the literary component of the visit, sixth grade boys—all members of the Real Men Read program—read to the younger students in small-groups. Real Men Read is an outgrowth of a national program that brings "real men" into the classrooms to read, including teachers and staff, police and firemen, military, business people and parents. About 75 sixth grade boys participate in the program, and this year the initiative includes a mentoring component that links the older boys with fourth graders. The New Jersey Education Association's Cat, played by retired teachers, makes the rounds to schools throughout the state during February and March as part of the National Education Association's Read Across America initiative. During his February 3 visit to Bowe, the beloved Dr. Seuss character, shown with Principal Kriston Matthews, delighted fourth grade students with some of his best dance moves.