There was so much energy and enthusiasm during two assemblies in the Pleasant Valley Elementary School gymnasium Thursday afternoon, as students and staff gathered to celebrate Read Across America Week with some special guests.

“We have been practicing a lot of reading this week. Our special guests today have to do a lot of practicing to become better,” said Assistant Principal Sabrina Albright as she introduced the Pleasant Valley High School Dance Team.

Dressed in black shirts and black leggings, the squad danced to a few songs, including Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling.”

They were soon joined on the floor by the Iron Pigs mascots, Ferrous and FeFe. They danced around and got the crowd to clap and cheer for the dancers.

“Our teachers are inspiring our kids to express their love of reading and to continue that good habit. We celebrate that today with the Iron Pigs mascots,” said James Konrad, Pleasant Valley School District superintendent, who stood on the sidelines with a few staff members.

The mascots went into the bleachers to high-five students in the front rows and wave to ones further back. Ferrous sat down for a minute and watched as FeFe danced near some teachers.

“The kids are so excited. These are our first assemblies since COVID-19 started,” said Principal Roger Pomposello.

Teachers Jess Colon and Melissa Kern, who are members of the nine-person Read Across America Week committee, spoke of the disconnect that everyone in the building had been feeling due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions and cancellations it had caused.

“We wanted to do something to bring everyone together and create that family feeling. We got the whole school involved - the students, staff, custodians, guidance counselors and Parent Teacher Organization. This has been a rejuvenating week,” said Colon.

All week long, students and staff participated in various activities, such as dress down days and all the classes are reading the same book, “The Magic Treehouse: The Knight at Dawn.” The PTO purchased the books for all the classes, she said.

“This was a teacher-led effort this year. Mr. Pomposello and I expressed our vision, and the teachers made it a reality,” said Albright. “The activities were student centered and literacy based.”

It was Colon’s idea to create a castle entrance archway - including flames and colorful pennants - in the main lobby. She asked members of the PTO to paint the brick look on large sheets of black paper. They gathered Monday morning to complete the task.

Later in the day, she added the characters from the book - Jack and Annie - inside the windows.

“The castle looks amazing. The kids love walking through the archway. I love how everyone got involved this week,” Kern said.

Thursday was Pajama Day, so most of the staff and students wore their favorite flannel or cotton jammies with school-code compliant shoes. On Friday, they ended the week dressed as their favorite book character.

“Reading is the most important skill we learn at PVE,” Pomposello said to the audience.

At 2:50 Thursday afternoon, everyone stopped what they were doing and went into the hallway for 10 minutes of reading.

“When we drop everything and read, we become rock stars like our dance team and baseball team,” Albright said.

After the two PVE assemblies, the mascots and dance team went to Pleasant Valley Intermediate School to perform for its students and staff.