By LINDA KELLETT

C-S-E News Staff

CANAJOHARIE — From her perch on the roof high above the grounds of the East Hill Elementary School, an Angry Bird in a large airy nest asked, “Are you my mother?”

The costumed figure — building Principal Stacy Ward — held a copy of the P.D. Eastman picture book of the same name aloft as she read about a hatchling’s search for its missing mother last Friday.

On the lawn below, students in grades pre-kindergarten through fifth grade listened respectfully as Ward read about the nestling’s perilous journey from nest to ground, where it encountered first a kitten then a hen, a dog, a cow and finally a “scary snort” — a steam shovel that lifted the chick back to the safety of its nest and long-sought-after mother.

From her vantage point on terra firma, Parent-Teacher Association President Caresse Beam explained that the unusual story time was a reward for the students.

She said, “We had a fundraiser. If [the students] met the goal for the fundraiser, Mrs. Ward would sit in a nest and read a book.”

Ward later explained that the theme of the fundraiser was linked to the popular Angry Birds computer game. “It was a theme the kids loved,” she said, noting that Angry Bird trinkets were among their tangible rewards.

Tied in with the fundraiser incentive was another challenge.

School Board member Bradley Morrison, who watched the proceedings from the safety of the ground, said, “The premise was that she [Ward] was proud of the children for following the rules and doing so well on their fundraiser.”

Ward said school faculty and staff at the beginning of the year reviewed the district’s new code of conduct. “We set the bar high” for the students’ reward, she said.

“They knew this week it was coming. It became real,” she added.