PS 8 students read over 400,000 minutes!
Photos by Ruth Katcher
The amazing students of PS 8 broke all previous records in the 3rd annual readathon fundraiser, reading nearly 420,000 minutes, an increase of 150,000 minutes over last year, and grossing over $30,000 in donations. From the 4-year-olds in Pre-K, who read picture books with their parents' help, to 5th graders who immerse themselves in blockbuster fantasy novels, over 70% of the student body participated this year.
A few interesting facts:
- Fourth graders took home the prize for the most minutes read, with nearly 90,000.
- 3rd grade teacher Melissa Browning's class read over 37,000 minutes, the most minutes of any class.
- Just over 200 children read 1,000 minutes or more, earning themselves a $10 gift certificate from Barnes & Noble to buy--what else?--more books.
- The money for the gift certificates came from the proceeds from the Barnes & Noble book fair: over $2,700! Book fair proceeds also were used to reward the class that read the most minutes in each grade with a $50 gift certificate for the classroom library. The remainder of the proceeds were given to the PS 8 library.
The readathon is PS 8's only schoolwide fundraiser in which the children do the work of raising money. Most children raise money through pledges from family members or friends, but this year, a concerted effort to engage every child, even those whose families could not sponsor them, brought in donations from many in the community, including members of the Dumbo and Brooklyn Heights Associations. As One PS 8 neighbor wrote "Even though I don't know your name I'm proud of you and all the books you're Reading."
As important as the fundraising is, the readathon has another tangible benefit. Whether they're 3rd-5th graders getting ready for the ELA test in January or younger children consolidating their reading skills, nothing is better for these students than reading for pleasure. It's true that a little competition never hurts--as proved by the cheers as Seth Phillips announced the winning class for each grade at the final readathon assembly--but the real benefit of the readathon is that our students learn the best lesson of all: reading is fun. Congratulations to all of our fantastic readers!
Posted on: December 23, 2008
