Todd J.
Van Emst Special to the News Auburn head track and field coach Ralph Spry reads to students at Dean Road Elementary School in Auburn on Thursday as part of the athletic department’s ‘Tigers Give Back’ Community Service Day. When Auburn assistant women’s basketball coach Mark Simons asked a fifth-grade science class at Ogletree Elementary School how many bones were in the human body Monday, hands quickly shot up. “Three hundred and six,” one answered. “Two hundred six,” another offered. “Nope,” Simons said. “You’re all wrong. (There are) only three that matter — the wish bone, the funny bone and the backbone.”
Simons used the anatomy lesson to help prepare the fifth-graders for a big change they all face when they enter sixth grade — and a new school — in the fall. He reminded the students to dream big, laugh at adversity and stand up for what they believe in.