Black Widow
03-20-2009, 12:46 PM
STAMFORD -- A classroom packed with K.T. Murphy fourth graders dressed in pajamas listened quietly to the story of King Midas' gold touch Wednesday evening, but after the story ended, professional wrestling commanded their full attention.
Linda McMahon, World Wrestling Entertainment's chief executive officer and a new state Board of Education member, was among the guests who read to pupils in a celebrity-tinged twist on the school's annual story night, an event intended to promote literacy.
Students have been talking about McMahon's visit, said Jennifer Leffers, a reading teacher. "They found out she was coming, and they wanted to know if some of the wrestlers were coming as well," she said.
Instead, other grades heard from Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele, State Rep. Carlo Leone, D-Stamford, two local doctors, a television reporter, an assistant superintendent, and Don Ienner, a K.T. Murphy alumni and music industry veteran.
Before beginning the story of the king whose obsession with gold leads him to turn his daughter into a statue, McMahon explained the importance of reading.
"If I couldn't have read, I could never have done a contract with Hulk Hogan," she told students.
After the reading finished, students peppered her questions about her two children, whether wrestling was real or fake, and which wrestler scared her most.
Ariel Gordillo, a fourth grader, said he wanted to one day work for the WWE, to which McMahon said he would need to go to college and become an athlete.
McMahon's appointment to the state board met some resistance, in part because of her role in a company that produces violent entertainment. McMahon received a more friendly reception from the students, who mobbed her for autographs after the reading.
"This is my first school event since I was appointed. I'm very happy to be in my own back yard," she said. WWE has offices not too far from the school on East Main Street.
The reading night offered other attractions as well to students.
"That was the highlight, come to school with pajamas on and getting homework passes," said Kirti Patel, whose fifth-grade daughter was most interested in the Channel 12 reporter's presence. Students who attended were given reprieves from the night's homework.
stamfordadvocate.com
Linda McMahon, World Wrestling Entertainment's chief executive officer and a new state Board of Education member, was among the guests who read to pupils in a celebrity-tinged twist on the school's annual story night, an event intended to promote literacy.
Students have been talking about McMahon's visit, said Jennifer Leffers, a reading teacher. "They found out she was coming, and they wanted to know if some of the wrestlers were coming as well," she said.
Instead, other grades heard from Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele, State Rep. Carlo Leone, D-Stamford, two local doctors, a television reporter, an assistant superintendent, and Don Ienner, a K.T. Murphy alumni and music industry veteran.
Before beginning the story of the king whose obsession with gold leads him to turn his daughter into a statue, McMahon explained the importance of reading.
"If I couldn't have read, I could never have done a contract with Hulk Hogan," she told students.
After the reading finished, students peppered her questions about her two children, whether wrestling was real or fake, and which wrestler scared her most.
Ariel Gordillo, a fourth grader, said he wanted to one day work for the WWE, to which McMahon said he would need to go to college and become an athlete.
McMahon's appointment to the state board met some resistance, in part because of her role in a company that produces violent entertainment. McMahon received a more friendly reception from the students, who mobbed her for autographs after the reading.
"This is my first school event since I was appointed. I'm very happy to be in my own back yard," she said. WWE has offices not too far from the school on East Main Street.
The reading night offered other attractions as well to students.
"That was the highlight, come to school with pajamas on and getting homework passes," said Kirti Patel, whose fifth-grade daughter was most interested in the Channel 12 reporter's presence. Students who attended were given reprieves from the night's homework.
stamfordadvocate.com