On Dec. 14, 2011, Northside High School teacher Ashley Cullipher and her Algebra II honors class traveled to Bath Elementary School to create an interactive math book to read to kindergartners and first-graders. The books ranged from “A Christmas Story” to “Mike Turns his Swagger On.”

Cullipher’s student Stephanie Camacho said, “The best part of the trip was when one of the kids loved my book so much that she said, ‘I want to take your book home and read it to my Mommy!’  The way she said this, in the cutest little voice, just touched my heart and made my day.”

Another of Cullipher’s students, Kayla Luke said, “I really enjoyed reading our books to the kindergartners. The kids looked so excited to hear our stories. They helped me read and competed to see who could answer the questions first. They were all so eager to learn. It was a fun experience, and I would love to have the opportunity to do it again.”

Eliza Bowen, another of Cullipher’s students, said, “It was really nice getting to see all the kids and how excited they were and eager to learn.  Most of them had the answer before I could even finish the page.”

Other students who participated in the project were Tori Sterrenberg, Mallory Paul, Gavin Sterrenberg, Dustin Taylor, Nick Dana, Pete Bright, Dustin Harris, Macy Baynor, Amanda Godley, Alexandra Cutler, Makayla Cutler, Cedric Black, Ramon Perez, Andy Ramirez and Kaitlyn Setzer.

This project gave the class a chance to teach the kindergartners math in a fun and exciting way, while also putting some smiles on their faces.