GHS senior fights off viral boredom by reading online to kids

Sydney Grass thought the idea of a few weeks off from school was great — until it actually happened.

The Grafton High School student is now mourning the might-of-been of her senior year, social distancing herself during the COVID-19 pandemic without in-person classes, friends, and teachers.

“I reached out to Mr. Cummings and told him I was bored,” she said.

That would be Grafton Superintendent of Schools James Cummings, who she got to know while working on a community service project. Cummings at the time was frantically working with staff to set up online learning programs, and he suggested she could spend her time reading to kids.

Online, of course. Story time should not come with a side of coronavirus.

Grass set up a Facebook page, GPS Learns, and is live-streaming video of herself reading books aimed at an audience of preschool through sixth grade. Her first book? Maurice Sendak’s classic, “Where the Wild Things Are.” All video sessions will be saved to the Facebook page for anytime use.

“I plan on doing chapter books as well as picture books,” she said. She has copies of many children’s books, including “The Magic Treehouse” series, and is open to any recommendations for future books.

Grass doesn’t know when or if she’s going back to high school, having a prom, or even walking across the graduation stage. She does know that her future lies at Merrimack College, where she will study either education or communications.

“It’s crazy, it doesn’t feel real,” she said of the situation. “But this is something I can do to help out.”