Read-a-thon Assembly
By Wendy Azzouni
The wildly successful second-annual PS 8 Read-a-thon came to a spirited end Monday, November 26, 2007, at two assemblies held to honor the students who participated and to celebrate the joy of reading.
Happy Winners! Photo by Randi Pellett
A whopping 58 percent of the student body participated in the Read-a-thon this year, reading over 250 thousand minutes, which PTA fundraising chair Todd Glass credits largely to the hard work of Read-a-thon organizers parents Michelle Marozik, Ruth Katcher, Diane Miller, and second-grade teacher Kristen Jennings.
Last year, students raised close to $12 thousand, with only 10 percent participation. Totals are not yet available for this year, as students are currently collecting checks from their sponsors. Organizers hope to have all checks in by Friday, November 30. Checks should be made out to the "PTA of PS8". Pledges are tax deductible and all pledge funds collected should be returned to your child's teacher.
Barnes and Noble awarded PS 8 a gift card for $1,389, the portion of funds raised through the sale of books at the kickoff for the Read-a-thon on October 18, which was a great start to the fund raising goal for the Read-a-thon. The card will be used to purchase books for the school library, as well as for some of the wish-lists for books compiled by teachers for their classroom libraries.
"I want to give you all a round of applause for your hard work," said Principal Philips before handing out certificates for all students who participated in the Read-a-thon. Those who read over a thousand minutes walked onto the stage with their teachers to receive their $10 gift cards as the student and staff cheered them on. Principal Philips also handed out $50 gift cards to the classes that read the most for each grade. All students who turned in reading logs received a certificate for helping their class in the final tally of minutes.
Some students who participated in the Read-a-thon were unable to find sponsors themselves, and so the PTA, along with the Brooklyn Heights Association, found sponsors in the community for them. Every child who participated had at least one sponsor.
K-103 - Winner K-Class! Photo by Aki Tuccu
Enthusiasm for reading and for the competition between classes was evident as classes cheered for themselves when Principal Phillips announced the class participants. The winning class in the pre –K was Ms. Lekvulic's class, with five participants. In the kindergarten, Ms. Irslinger's class won, with 23 out of 25 students participating and over 11 thousand minutes read. Ms. Saffady's first-grade class won, with over 17 thousand minutes read, and Ms. Jennings' class, with all the students participating, won for the second-grade. Ms. Browning's class won for the third-graders, with over 32 thousand minutes read, the highest grand total for any of the classes, and Ms. Labenski's class won for the fourth-grade. Ms. Gazlay's fifth-graders won, with the participation of every student in the class.
The first assembly, for pre-K through second-grade, began with teachers reading stories to the children. Ms. Berretta, a pre-k teacher, read "I Went Walking"; kindergarten teacher Ms. Vecchio read the rhythmical "Charlie Parker Plays Bebop"; and Ms. Forrest, a first- grade teacher, read "Do Not Open This Book," which had most of the students shouting out at the end that yes, indeed, Ms. Forrest should open the book and turn the pages.
Students in the third-, fourth- and fifth- grades filed into the auditorium carrying books, where Principal Philips instructed them to read silently for the first 15 minutes, after which he would hand out certificates. Everyone, including the teachers, parents, Assistant Principal Bob Mikos, Principal Philips, and the auditorium full of enthusiastic kids, read quietly in celebration of reading.
Posted on: November 27, 2007
