For some of the students at Manchester Elementary Middle School (MEMS), the anticipation was too much to bear. As English Language Arts teacher Jessica Kuzmich walked the halls recently, she was approached warily by a third grade student, who pleaded: “Ms. Kuzmich, can you please, please just tell the name of the book?”
March seems to be everyone’s favorite month at MEMS. That’s when all students, families and staff celebrate National Reading Month. Last March, the selection of The Wild Robot transformed the school into a community of readers with a single book. At the All-School Assembly on March 7th, students learned the name of this year’s selection, Wishtree, the award-winning children’s novel by Christina Applegate.
“Last year the whole MEMS community bought into idea of reading one book to celebrate literacy,” said Kuzmich. “The Wild Robot was a huge success and we are pulling out all the stops to reach high for the sky with Wishtree.”
Wishtree offers important lessons for this day and time. The main character is an old oak tree called Red, who along with a crow pal Bongo and other animals, watch over the neighborhood. The humans visit Red and share their wishes on pieces of cloth and hang them from Red’s branches. Red and friends thought they had heard it all until a new family arrives and not everyone is welcoming.
“The lessons in Wishtree include empathy, kindness, resilience, listening, learning, friendship and belonging,” said Kuzmich. “At MEMS we don’t just read the book, we come together as a community on a variety of fronts to make our school richer in spirit.”
The March celebration kicked off with a school-wide assembly to announce the title, pass out copies of the book, and share in the love of reading. Students from all grades offered their own reasons for turning pages including, “It inspires me to do different things,” and “Books open up my imagination.
As one student untied a ribbon to reveal the name of the March book, Red’s friend Bongo the crow (aka Natalie Philpot from the Dorset Players) ca-cawed and emerged from offstage to delight the audience. “Red is an old sap,” Bongo said with a grin. “She’s stubborn and grounded in the same place, but she’s silly, wise, and my best friend.”
At the All-school meeting Kuzmich and MEMS librarian Erin McCall laid out activities planned for the month, such as :
All students received a Wishtree tee shirt designed by an 8th grade artist..
A breakfast of green eggs and ham on Dr. Seuss’s birthday.
MEMS students discussed their love of reading and school activities during National Reading Month on WEQX’s Sunday Brunch with Joy.
Teachers and their charges will become experts in a specific tree species and create a MEMS forest of knowledge.
MEMS art teacher Catherine Borman and students will turn the hallways of MEMS into an enchanted forest.
MEMS Spirit Week from March 17-21 will have a literary theme, such as students dressing up one day as their favorite character from a book (Manchester, get ready for sightings of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger).
Middle school music lovers will meet with WEQX and create their own soundtrack for Wishtree.
Funds will be raised with the Make a Wish Foundation to help make a wish come true for a young Vermonter.
The main event will be the Family Literacy Dinner on Thursday, March 27th. Local restaurants will donate food, students and families will join a school-side scavenger hunt, and local authors will read passages from Wishtree in the school library. Last year, the dinner drew 400 guests.
“We’re hoping to raise the bar this month,” said Kuzmich.
And to top things off, even the All-School meeting had a storybook ending. In the spirit of basketball’s March Madness, middle school math teacher Scott Diedrich was given three chances to make a shot from half court. One make would gift an ice cream party to the entire school. The outlook was grim after two attempts fell short and off to the right. Diedrich then dug deep and launched a shot that soared, hit the backboard, and dropped straight into the net.
Ice cream for everyone! And reading for all!
(Photo above: MEMS Kindergartener Zara Pena and school librarian Erin McCall announce "Wishtree" as the 2025 All-School Book.)
MEMS ELA teacher Jessica Kuzmich holds the microphone as 5th grade artist Benjamin Redleon explains the inspiration for his drawing that proclaims "Reading is for Everyone.”
Teachers hang their own wishes on a MEMS “Wishtree” that will be featured in the school library.
Middle school math teacher Scott Diedrich launches the half court shot that bounced off the backboard and into the net to guarantee a MEMS Ice Cream Party.