Storytime Series: State Senator, Financial Planner, and Librarian read to students

State Senator Julian Cyr, Financial Planner Trish Graham, and Librarian Nori Morganstein joined with Latham students (and students from around the country) for our June Virtual Storytime “Week Two.” Students have been very excited about the Storytime series featuring local professionals from many different careers, and the online sessions have been a great experience for staff as well.

Massachusetts Senator Julian Cyr read One Bear Extraordinaire by Jayme McGowan to students on Monday, June 8th. Not only is Julian a Senator, but he grew up in Truro, just a stones-throw down the road from Latham Centers’ campus. Julian has been a longtime Latham friend; we fondly recall when he joined us on campus for a student’s graduation ceremony in February 2017. (See the blog post from his visit here.) During Virtual Storytime, Julian explained that the Senators from all the states work together on large and small issues, ranging from health to education. One student asked the senator if he’d been helping with any COVID-19 policy-making and thanked Julian for his work when he learned that Julian had been involved.

Local financial planner Trish Graham joined our students for Storytime on Wednesday, June 10th. She read a beautiful story called The Specific Ocean written by Kyo Maclear and illustrated by Katty Maurey. Trish is Owner and Principal of Graham Financial, a Financial Services Practice based in Dennis. In addition to volunteering at the Harwich Food Pantry and serving meals to the homeless, Trish is a longtime member of the Rotary Club of Dennis and Harwich where she has recently organized a group of volunteers who have sewn over 4,000 masks for Cape essential workers, assisted living facilities, Cape Cod Hospital, and other agencies including Latham Centers. The students were particularly interested in her volunteer work making masks during this critical time!

The week concluded with local librarian legend Nori Morganstein. The students at Latham Centers are familiar with Nori – during typical circumstances, they frequent the library to take out books and videos, and some even have volunteer jobs there. Nori read one of her favorite books, Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed, written and illustrated by Eileen Christelow. Nori is no stranger to virtual storytimes; she reads live for the Brewster Ladies’ Library and she loved Latham’s use of the Epic! Reading portal. One student’s question, “What is your favorite book?” challenged Nori. After much contemplation, she answered that the Harry Potter series is her favorite at the moment, but that since she loves books so much, her favorite is always changing!

We thank Senator Cyr, Trish, and Nori for joining us on Virtual Storytime. The attendees have loved getting to know every reader! Hearing their stories and learning about their interests continues to be a beacon of light during this Virtual time in our lives.