Teacher promotes reading through sports teams
By Melissa Muntz Community Reporter

Shrewsbury - There's something on earth that has the power to transport you back to Colonial America, bearing witness to the birth of a new country, or take you racing across the open seas pillaging for gold and taking no prisoners, or show you what it's like to look down on the Earth 240,000 miles below.

It's not the world's most sophisticated computer, a time machine or even a genie. It's the ability to read.

Reading opens the door to the millions of stories that have been captured in print over time, just waiting for someone to put in the eff ort and enjoy.

But with the advent of television and video games, getting kids excited about reading is becoming harder than ever.

This is why Sherwood Middle School Reading Specialist Pam Catino has teamed up with local sports teams to implement an outof the-box approach toward reading.

"Reading is really the backbone of our culture," Catino said. "It's a critical element of the curriculum, something they have to do in every class and it's something that they're going to be called on to do for the rest of their lives."

(l to r) Jack Quinlivan, Reading Specialist Pam Catino, Shriya Jamakandi and Nicole Ferreira get ready to kick off the Homerun Reading Club at Sherwood Middle School in Shrewsbury. MELISSA MUNTZ

Catino led the school in a reading incentive program with the Worcester Sharks earlier this year, and has now joined the Worcester Tornadoes to reward kids for a job well read.

"Some kids are very active and find it difficult to sit still with a book, some have had negative experiences because they have weaker skills and aren't finding books that interest them, or they may not have the right role models to guide them in that direction," Catino said. "If you can motivate them, even if they're only doing this for the prize, ultimately they might find books that interest them and can see that reading on their own is more fun than they thought."

Catino designed a baseball diamond for the Homerun Reading Club, which will allow kids to earn diff erent prizes based on the amount they read.

Starting at home plate, the kids advance a base for every 150 pages read until, after 600 pages, they've completed their homerun.

Every child will be awarded a free ticket to a Tornadoes game just for accepting the challenge.

From there, the kids will have the chance to earn an additional game ticket or team paraphernalia, and the top reader in each grade will earn the opportunity to throw out the first pitch at the "Sherwood Middle School Family Night Tornadoes Game" Wednesday June 18.

The Homerun Reading Club will kick off its seven week reading challenge April 11, when Tornadoes third-base coach Dave Smith visits.

Smith makes it a point to talk about his players reading on the bus on their way to games, letting the kids know that it's an important part of their lives.

Catino said she's hoping that pairing athletics with academics will attract even the most reluctant readers.

"Our culture praises athletics more than academics, and if the kids can see that the baseball players are also readers," she said, "it shows them that reading can be cool."

The Homerun Reading Club was made possible through donations from the Worcester Tornadoes and the Sherwood Middle School Parent Teacher Organization.