With Principal Kellie Gebhardt reportedly “out” on Friday, special guest Johnny Appleseed took over visiting classrooms at Goose Creek Elementary to get students excited about reading.
Cheery, shoeless and donning a metal pot as a cap, “Johnny Appleseed” spent the day promoting reading – as well as Appleseed’s legacy and the importance of apples.
Johnny Appleseed Day is celebrated annually on Sept. 26 – his birthday – to honor the legacy and life’s work of John Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed. While not a public holiday per se, it is an opportunity to celebrate all things apple, the crop Appleseed was known to plant throughout the western frontier. He is remembered as a kind person who usually went around barefoot with a tin utensil on his head that served as both a hat and something for him to cook with on his travels.
During the classroom visits, “Johnny Appleseed” read aloud books that detailed the apple nurseryman’s life, and also distributed apple slices as a healthy snack for students to enjoy. After listening to the read aloud session, some students also participated in a craft activity that centered on apples.
Dr. Gebhardt send her regards and will be back in the office next week.
