By MOLLY DAVIDSON / Staff Writer

NORTH SHELBY—Inverness Elementary School was decked out in dots in celebration of International Dot Day on Sept. 17. Throughout the day, students participated in dot-themed activities inspired by “The Dot,” a book by Peter Reynolds.

“It has two purposes,” IES Assistant Principal Jeff Norris said of the International Dot Day celebration. “We wanted everyone in the school to have a shared reading experience. Also, our theme this year is ‘making it count,’ the book is about making your mark and never saying you can’t do something.”

Teachers prepared dot-themed lessons, from dot math to a dot-inspired exercise circuit in Michael Daniel’s physical education class.

In Bridget Spackman’s kindergarten class, students used their creativity to turn plain paper dots into colorful butterflies, lollipops, flowers and more.

“It encourages students to believe in themselves,” Spackman said. “I want them to really believe in themselves and that they can do more. I want them to say ‘Oh, I can do better.’”

The International Dot Day celebration tied into a unit about inspiration and individuality in Spackman’s class.

“(We’re reading) books about kids who are trying to find their inspiration,” Spackman said. “We’re taking it into next week… (we’re learning about) honoring each other as individuals and respecting each other.”

In addition to dot-inspired activities, each classroom read “The Dot” with a special visitor. Inverness Elementary School custodians, nurse Megan Cobb, school resource officer Lee Stockman and more from the school community joined in the festivities, reading to classrooms throughout the day.

“They discussed the theme of the book… how it applies to our lives as learners,” Norris said. “It’s a school culture building activity.”

Although International Dot Day was Sept. 17, IES will celebrate all month with a hallway decorated dots reflecting students’ individuality. The hallway to the cafeteria is covered in colorful student-created dots displaying something they would each like to do.

“The majority of the school brought in dots… we did it in Spanish too,” Norris said. “(The students) love walking down the hallway and seeing everybody’s dots.”