Special guests from the community are visiting Effingham County schools this week and reading books to pre-kindergarten students for Georgia Pre-K Week.

South Effingham High School got a head start last week by hosting guest readers for its pre-K program.

State Rep. Bill Hitchens, Effingham County Schools Superintendent Randy Shearouse, school district Human Resources Director Becky Long and County Commissioner Vera Jones each read a book to the youngsters. Bea Saba, Live Oak Public Libraries’ Effingham coordinator, read two books and led the children in a couple of sing-alongs.

“I love it, and the kids were really excited,” Shearouse said. “And what a smart group of 4-year-olds.”

Following the book readings, each pre-K child checked out a book from the SEHS media center. The students will check out books every two weeks for the remainder of the school year to start them on their way to being lifelong readers, according to SEHS media specialist Catherine Olivier.

“Really, this is kind of different from what we normally do,” Hitchens said with a chuckle. “Most of the meetings I attend are pretty serious, and what draws people to those meetings usually isn’t happiness.”

For more pictures from the guest readers' visit to SEHS for Georgia Pre-K Week, click "Your Photos" on the front page of www.effinghamherald.net.