Trout Creek Elementary Celebrates Literacy with Dr. Seuss-Themed Night

Volunteers and community partners help bring reading to life for students

Mar. 12, 2026 at 12:00am

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Trout Creek Elementary School in Montana hosted its annual literacy night on Thursday, celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday week. Volunteers from the Thompson Falls Women's Club read aloud to students, and the school also featured fun literacy-learning toys from the Thompson Falls Public Library. The event included activities like a book walk, prizes, and exposure to new reading technologies like Playaway audiobook devices.

Why it matters

Literacy nights like this help connect the school to the broader community and get students excited about reading. They also showcase the importance of community partnerships in supporting educational initiatives and exposing kids to a variety of reading resources and experiences.

The details

The literacy night featured a book walk activity where students danced and hopped around numbers on the floor, stopping on a random number to win prizes like Dr. Seuss books and a handmade quilt featuring famous book covers. Representatives from the Thompson Falls Women's Club and Public Library also demonstrated new reading technologies like Playaway audiobook devices that combine apps, videos, and e-books for a multi-modal learning approach.

  • The literacy night was held on Thursday, March 12, 2026 to celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday week.

The players

Taylour Lyght

A third, fourth, and fifth grade teacher at Trout Creek Elementary who believes the literacy night helps connect the school to the community and get kids excited about reading.

Reece Bacon

A Trout Creek Elementary student who enjoyed the book walk activity and said his favorite Dr. Seuss book is "Green Eggs and Ham".

Karen Gustavsen

The treasurer of the Thompson Falls Women's Club, which supports education and fundamentals like reading to help give students independence.

Sunday Dutro

A representative from the Thompson Falls Public Library who demonstrated new reading technologies like Playaway audiobook devices.

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What they’re saying

“I think having a literacy night really helps connect the school to the community. It gets the kids really excited about reading.”

— Taylour Lyght, Third, fourth, and fifth grade teacher (Sanders County Ledger)

“I loved the book walk. The music was really good and I liked that I got to dance around.”

— Reece Bacon, Trout Creek Elementary student (Sanders County Ledger)

“The Womans Club really supports education and fundamentals. We really think reading gives independence.”

— Karen Gustavsen, Treasurer, Thompson Falls Women's Club (Sanders County Ledger)

What’s next

The school plans to continue hosting the annual literacy night as a way to engage the community and get students excited about reading.

The takeaway

Literacy nights that bring together schools, community organizations, and reading resources can be an effective way to foster a love of reading in students and strengthen the connection between schools and their local communities.