Students at MCSES had fun reading “around the world” for Read-A-Thon Day last month. The annual Read-A-Thon event encourages students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade to enjoy books and practice reading.
On Read-A-Thon Day, students participate in lots of reading and language activities. Many classrooms welcomed guest readers including Superintendent Spindler.
“The idea behind Read-A-Thon is to get our kids excited about books and reading by giving them opportunities to explore different genres and all the ways reading can be enjoyed and shared,” said Allison Hagner, a reading teacher at MCSES who helps coordinate the event. “We started using themes like the Olympics and the Academy Awards of Books to make it more engaging and exciting.”
This year’s theme was “Read Around the World,” and classes earned one “mile” for every page they read on Read-A-Thon Day. Classes tracked how far their Houses “traveled” around the world and learned about different countries and landmarks along the way.
“The 2022 theme is a celebration of the diversity of our students’ backgrounds,” said Mrs. Hagner. “We were also inspired by a quote from Mason Cooley that says, ‘Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are,’ and we thought that was appropriate given the circumstances of the pandemic.”
Students who read the most earned points for their Houses of MCSES and the chance to win lots of prizes throughout the day.
Leading up to Read-A-Thon Day, students collected donations for book pledges and set out to reach reading goals. In addition to promoting literacy and a love of reading, the annual Read-A-Thon helps the MCSES Parent/Teacher Organization hold events throughout the year.
Eight grand prizes were awarded among the top three pledge earners in each grade band (PK-2 and 3-5), as well as one student from each grade band who got at least $1 in pledges.
“Read-A-Thon would not be possible without the generosity of our staff and the Hudson community,” said Mrs. Hagner. “Their donations help us enhance the event with prizes to award throughout the day. It is truly amazing how much the Hudson community supports our students.”
