Northwestern Elementary School Principal Maria Pulli, who has Pa. Dutch roots, welcomed her mother, Ann Rossillo, to the school on Dec. 16, 2019.

She came as a guest reader for the first grade and kindergarten students.

Rossillo read “Pennsylvania Dutch Night Before Christmas,” by Chet Williamson, to the students in the morning.

“My mom’s side of the family is Pa. Dutch,” Pulli said. “Years ago, probably about 15 years, my sister bought my mom this book, “Pennsylvania Dutch Night Before Christmas.

“And so we began a tradition of her reading it at our annual family Christmas party in a Pa. Dutch accent.”

Northwestern Elementary was not the first school Rossillo has visited to highlight her Pa. Dutch insights.

“She came in to read a few times when I worked in another district [Northampton] but this was the first time she came to read here,” Pulli said.

She said having her mother come to the school to read dovetailed nicely with the themes the students were working on.

“Our first-grade team does a Holidays Around the World day,” she said.

“This seemed like a good tie-in to what they were doing and we thought it would be nice to include kindergarten, too. The kids seemed to enjoy it.”