Students in teacher Suzanne Falcone’s second grade class at Harbor Hill Elementary School celebrated International Dot Day — a global celebration of creativity, courage and collaboration.

International Dot Day began when teacher Terry Shay introduced his classroom to Peter H. Reynolds’ book The Dot on Sept. 15, 2009. It has inspired countless children and adults around the globe. The Dot is the story of a caring teacher who dares a doubting student to trust in her own abilities by being brave enough to “make her mark.” What begins with a small dot on a piece of paper becomes a breakthrough in confidence and courage.

Dressed in dots and other creative patterns, the students read The Dot as a class and crafted their own creative dots. “I love to celebrate days like these,” said Ms. Falcone. “The children build social-emotional learning skills through literature and their creativity explodes through art, writing and collaboration.”