Inland Empire Community Newspapers • March 7, 2013 • Page A13

Sylvan goes all out for Read Across America

By Cynthia Mendoza

What better place to cel-ebrate Read AcrossAmerica, a national lit-eracy promotion event sponsoredby the National Education Associ-ation, and Dr. Seuss’s birthdaythan at a place that not only pro-motes literacy but also helps peo-ple of all ages learn and improveon their reading, Sylvan LearningCenter. On Saturday, March 2, the SylvanLearning Center in Rialto, at theRancho Verde Shopping Center,went all out to bring the commu-nity together to celebrate Dr.Seuss’s birthday and get engagedin learning and reading. Specialguests included the most famousDr. Seuss character, Cat In The Hatand Thing 1 and Thing 2, the bluehaired “thing” buddies and as isvery often the case, a Rialto firetruck. The prize wheel offered great andvery useful prizes, too, includinggift cards to well known retailerssuch as Ralph’s and Starbucks aswell as certificates for free tutoringor assessments. Activities included games, aphoto booth with props, a prizewheel as well as a Cat in the Hatsnack and freshly made ice cream.All activities but the ice creamwere free. And speaking of icecream, this in itself had its ownunique twist as it was made on thespot with fresh ingredients andthen frozen with nitrogen. The AriaDance Company also put on awonderful performance and atevery station there was somethingfun and interactive for kids andtheir parents to do. “We wanted to get the kids ex-cited about reading and give fami-lies something fun to do for free,”said Debbie Shiba, Director of Ed-ucation for Sylvan Learning Centerin Rialto. “Reading is important atsuch an early age. Reading is inte-gral to every part of life. Every-thing involves reading.” The event, which drew about 200people, including about 90 kids,was also an opportunity for parents

to familiarize themselves with theSylvan services available to theirstudents to help them be successfulin school. Getting the help theyneed to do well in school, apartfrom improving academic per-formance, can also enhance a

child’s confidence and fill in a fewgaps that they may not otherwisebe able to achieve. And let’s faceit, as almost any parent will admit,sometimes kids need to hear cer-tain things from well-respectedpeople other than their parents inorder for it make a difference. “Sometimes tutors get through tokids when parents can’t,” Shibasaid. But getting help for school isn’tjust for kids. Adults are also en-couraged to do so, such as adultswho may be going back to collegelater in life and need to brush up onbasics such as algebra. Either way, getting help in school

is something that can help kids andadults alike achieve their educa-tional goals, which in turn canboost confidence and self-esteem. The Read Across America eventat Sylvan Learning Center wasmade possible by many of the mer-chants in the Rancho Verde Shop-ping Center, who contributedthrough gift cards or other forms ofsupport and sponsorship. A bigthank you to them, too. For more information on SylvanLearning Center in Rialto call(909) 562-0234. There is also acenter in Redlands. Their numberis (909) 792-9669.

PHOTOS/CALEB SHIBA

What Dr. Seuss birthday celebration would be complete withoutthe Cat In The Hat and Thing 1 and Thing 2? They were all partof the Read Across America celebration on Saturday, March 2 atSylvan Learning Center located at the Rancho Verde ShoppignCenter.

PHOTOS/CALEB SHIBA

Ben Eller, right, leads a “Green eggs and ham” themed game atthe Saturday, March 2 Read Across America event at SylvanLearning Center in Rialto. The event is in honor of Dr. Seuss’sbirthday, the famous author who penned the popular book by thattitle.

PHOTOS/CALEB SHIBA

Aria Dance Company put on a wonderful performance on Saturday, March 2 at the Read AcrossAmerica event at Sylvan Learning Center in Rialto.

PHOTOS/CALEB SHIBA

The prize wheel at Sylvan Learning Center’s Read Across Amer-ica had great prizes, including gift cards for well-known retailersand certificates for services such as free tutoring and assess-ments.

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