Cheryl Miller, Lecturer for the PA State Grange, and Eileen Cramer, President of the PA State Grange, attended the event and passed out goodie bags for the kids to get them excited about literacy and the Grange in general.

Miller got the children involved as she spoke about the Grange and what they do, asking them what they think of when they hear the word. Expectedly, most children shouted out “Grange Fair!”

“Exactly! It is the Grange Organization that makes it possible to have the Grange Fair. If there wasn’t a Grange in Centre County, it would just be a fair. It is very important for rural America,” said Miller.

Miller spoke about the importance of the work the Grange does, and how they’re striving to get Broadband internet service in rural areas, like Howard. She also spoke on how the Grange supports agriculture here and across the nation.

Cheryl Miller, Lecturer for the PA State Grange, poses with one of the goodie bags to be handed out to the children. BREANNA HANLEY/THE EXPRESS

The Grange (Patrons of Husbandry) is a fraternal family organization dedicated to the betterment of the American way of life through community service, education, legislation and fellowship.

It is the oldest agricultural and rural advocacy organization of its kind in the United States, and nationally represents around 140,000 members.

The highlight of their visit were the goodie bags passed out to all of the children at the assembly. The bags were Dr. Seuss themed, including a pencil, eraser, bookmark and stress ball. The stress balls were a big hit among the children, especially.

The Grange also sponsored other activities during Spirit Week. One of the activities they’re sponsoring is a raffle. For every book a child reads, their teacher will give them a raffle ticket.

The raffle tickets will be put into a jar in their classroom to be drawn at the end of the week. The winner will get a book and a stuffed animal.

BREANNA HANLEY/THE EXPRESS Eileen Cramer is pictured passing out goodie bags to kids as they’re dismissed to classrooms at the end of the assembly.

Amber Buchanan, English and Language Arts teacher for 3rd, 4th and 5th grade, led the assembly and explained more about the event.

The Read Across America celebration at Howard Elementary includes a Spirit Week for the kids with a different event every day for the kids to enjoy.

The rest of the week will have fun events for the children, with special Spirit Week dress up days for the students (wearing as many colors as you can, wearing green/christmas, festive sock day).

Grades K-1 will have a celebration of reading at the end of the week with special treats.

Grades 2 and 3 will be competing against each other, and grades 4 and 5 will be competing to see who has read the most books and has the most points. The classroom that has the most points at the end of the week will get a pizza party!

Throughout the week there will also be guest readers at the school.

Christy Shields from WTAJ will be coming in to read to the children, weather permitting; Bald Eagle Area High School students and the homecoming queen will be reading to the students; Cheryl Miller will be reading as well and another unannounced guest reader will be coming to the school on Friday.

Another cool event the school is having is called “Drop Everything and Read Day.” A sound will play randomly throughout the day, and students will be expected to drop whatever it is they’re working on to pick up a book.

The Book Fair is also in town this week, with students able to browse and preview books on Monday and purchase books on Tuesday. There will also be a game night held at Howard Elementary from 6-7.

“We have a really busy week with lots of things to do,” said Buchanan. To end the assembly, they went over their rules: Be Kind, Be Respectful, Be Responsible and Be Safe.