Closing Ceremony

The previous post listed all our final results - total minutes read, top readers, raffle prize winners and winner of the teacher or staff who got things "launched" at them - all of which were celebrated at the Closing Ceremony of our Read-a-thon on Thursday, April 7th at the All School Meeting. Below are some photos taken at the Closing Ceremony.  The last link is a video of the big "launch!"

Top readers for each grade received $10 gift cards to Flying Pig Bookstore which were generously donated by the Russell Memorial Library.  Dawn Thibault, from the Monkton Library, presented the certificates and gift cards to the top readers.

 

 

 

VIDEO OF OUR BIG "LAUNCH" BASED ON SNOWY DAY, GRAVITY, AND CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS BOOKS!

 

Click on the video above to see the "launching" at Ms. Foley, Ms. Knox, and Ms. Leggett.

Final Results!

With our Read-a-thon theme, Launch into Reading!, we hope that the time students spent reading that helped launch them into new books and discover more about themselves and the world around them.

Our final tally of total minutes read was really impressive – 141,900 total minutes read by students, teachers, and staff in 30 days! We had 163 students, teachers, and staff participate by turning in reading logs at least once throughout the month and 69 students reached Mountain Lion Reader status (450 minutes for grades K-2, 600 minutes for grades 3-4, and 900 minutes for grades 5-6).

We also raised over $5,100 for PTO activities such as trips to the Flynn Theater, classroom fieldtrips, providing after school enrichment opportunities, the World Language Program through Middlebury College, the Four Winds Nature Program, contributing toward programs such as the Artists in Residence, helping provide materials for classrooms and much more! 
 
Events such as Rock and Read week, Jason Chin’s author visit, Character Dress-up Day and Mystery Reader Week were all fun and celebrated the reading students had been doing.

Thanks to all the students for the many hours they put into reading, to the parents for encouraging their students, for the community for supporting through sponsor pledges, and for the teachers and staff for their engagement and enthusiasm! A special thanks to the Read-a-thon committee members:  Betsy Knox, Holly Esterline, Stephanie Murray, Nicole Christman, Casey Underwood, and Anna Lester. A special thanks to parent volunteers such as Jen Stanley and John McNerney for help with tallying and counting.

Top readers – students who read the most cumulative minutes over the 30 days and received a $10 certificate to the Flying Pig Bookstore, Shelburne, VT

 

Kindergarten – Sophie Underwood
Grade 1 – Jack Stratz
Grade 2 – Molly Mangini
Grade 3 – Whitney Dykstra
Grade 4 – Desmond Carrico
Grade 5 – Owen Kelliher
Grade 6 – Kassidy Jay
Teacher – Ms. Cota

Top Classroom with highest average minutes read and earned an ice cream or pizza party is Ms. Gagner's 5/6 class!

Raffle Prizes

Recycled Reading, Bristol, VT - $5 Certificates

1. Annie Dufault
2. Siena Stanley
3. Nick Clodgo
4. Avery Stetson
5. Lucy Parker
6. Patty McNerney
7. Hazel Guilimette
8. Txuxa Konzcal
9. Anni Funke
10. Gwen Gero

Autographed copy of Jason Chin's book - Galapogos - Rylee Layn
Autographed copy of Jason Chin's book - Coral Reefs - Nell Harvey
Autographed copy of Jason Chin's book - Redwoods - Aubrey Coffey

2 movie tickets to the Marquis in Middlebury - Morgan Stetson

$10 Gift Cards to Cookie Love, North Ferrisburgh, VT
1. Louisa Guillimette
2. Liam Beatty

Passes to Whirley's World, Middlebury, VT
1. Scarlet Tarmy
2. Cassandra Guillmette

4 tickets to Montshire Museum, Norwich, VT - Madeleine Hotaling

2 day passes and equipment rental to Petra Cliffs, South Burlington, VT - Spencer Sears


Out-of-this-world surprise!
For all the students who earned Mountain Lion Reader status, they got to vote on one of three teachers or staff members who volunteered to get things "launched" on them! The 3rd place winner was Ms. Foley, the 2nd place winner was Ms. Knox, and the 1st place winner was Ms. Leggett!

Photos from the Closing Ceremony will be up in the next post...

Author Visit - Jason Chin

On Thursday, March 31^st, we had an Author’s Visit by Jason Chin, a local VT author and illustrator, of the acclaimed books Gravity, Island: A Story of the Galapagos, Redwoods and Coral Reefs.  Most recently, he illustrated Water is Water, by Miranda Paul. You can learn more by visiting his website: http://jasonchin.net/.
 

Character Dress-Up Day

On Wednesday, March 16th, we had Character Dress-Up Day at Monkton Central to celebrate our favorite characters from books! Here are some photos of the "characters" seen around school...

Week 4 - 111,377 minutes read so far!

Week 4 - 111,377 minutes read so far!

Week 4 results are in! We have had another incredible week with 111,377 total minutes read by students, staff and teachers so far. Below are the results for Week 4 and the top readers in each grade.  This week, we also had 24 more new students achieve "Mountain Lion Reader".  Great job to these wonderful students!

Just one more week to go!

IMPORTANT REMINDER:

·        Please remind students to bring in their reading log AND sponsor pledge envelopes with money collected from their sponsors in on MONDAY, APRIL 4th.  Students who bring in both of these to school will be entered into a raffle for prizes such as gift certificates to Recycled Reading Bookstore, Cookie Love, Monshire Museum, Petra Cliffs and more.  If students forget to turn in their reading log and sponsor pledge envelopes on Monday,  we are hoping that students bring them before the Closing Ceremony if possible.  Certainly, we are happy to collect the reading logs and sponsor pledge envelopes anytime before the end of the year, but would love to have it sooner than later if possible.
 

 

Average Minutes/Students in Each Classroom for Week 4
Ms. Leggett- 400 minutes
Ms. Carter - 503 minutes
Ms. Livingston - 552 minutes
Ms. Way - 610 minutes
Ms. Foley - 884 minutes
Ms. McLane - 414 minutes
Ms. Gagner - 908 minutes
Ms. Pierpont - 884 minutes
Ms. Primo - 581 minutes

Highest rate of participation was Ms. Gagner’s classrooms at 90% and is the top classroom for Week 4.

School-wide Average - 640 minutes

Top Reader in Each Grade - Week 4
Kindergarten – Sophie Underwood 1st Grade – Jack Stratz
2nd Grade – Isla Underwood
3rd Grade – Whitney Dykstra
4th Grade – Desmond Carrico
5th Grade – Owen Kelliher
6th Grade – Kassidy Jay
Teachers - Ms. Cota

Week 3 results - 74,086 total minutes read so far!

Week 3 results - 74,086 total minutes read so far!

Week 3 results are in! We have had an astounding 74,086 total minutes read by students so far! 

This week, we had 16 new students achieve "Mountain Lion Reader” status by meeting their individual goals of 450 minutes for students grades K-2, 600 minutes for students grades 3-4, and 900 minutes for students grades 5-6. bringing our number of Mountain Lion Readers to a total of 27. These readers earn a vote in which teacher or staff member do something “out-of-the-world" during the Closing Ceremony on Thursday, April 7th.We will pass out the voting slips a day or two before the Closing Ceremony once we have a complete list of all the students who have completed their reading goals as Mountain Lion Readers.

COMING UP – Thursday, March 31^st, will be our Author’s Visit by Jason Chin, a local VT author and illustrator, of the acclaimed books Gravity, Island: A Story of the Galapagos, Redwoods and Coral Reefs.  Most recently, he illustrated Water is Water, by Miranda Paul. You can learn more by visiting his website: http://jasonchin.net/. Holly has been in touch with him and working out the details of his visit.
 

 

Average Minutes/Students in Each Classroom thru the end of Week 3

Ms. Leggett- 232 minutes
Ms. Carter - 337 minutes
Ms. Livingston - 376 minutes
Ms. Way - 437 minutes
Ms. Foley - 617 minutes
Ms. McLane - 280 minutes
Ms. Gagner – 620 minutes
Ms. Pierpont - 550 minutes
Ms. Primo - 352 minutes 

School-wide Average - 426 minutes

Highest rate of participation is Ms. Gagner's classrooms at 86% and Ms. Gagner’s classroom is the top classroom for Week 3.

Top Reader in Each Grade - Week 3

Kindergarten – Sophie Underwood
1st Grade – Jack Stratz
2nd Grade – Isla Underwood
3rd Grade – Whitney Dykstra
4th Grade – Desmond Carrico
5th Grade – Owen Kelliher
6th Grade – Kassidy Jay
Teachers - Ms. Cota

Week 2 Results

Week 2 Results

What a great second week of reading! We have had an astounding 40,300 total minutes read by students, teachers, and staff so far. A reminder that if your student forgot their log on Monday, they can bring it in next Monday, March 21. Every minute counts! Also, if students have misplaced their reading logs, extra copies can be found in the main office. 

A reminder that  children can continue finding sponsors any time through the end of March.

We are starting to see students already achieve the individual reading goals (450 minutes for K-2, 600 for Grades 3-4, and 900 for Grades 5-6) to earn “Mountain Lion Reader” status! We had eleven students reach this goal this week. These readers will receive a vote for which teacher or staff member will do something “out-of-this-world” during the Closing Ceremony on Thursday, April 7nd. We will pass out the voting slips a day or two before the Closing Ceremony once we have a complete list of all the students who have completed their reading goals as Mountain Lion Readers.

COMING UP NEXT WEEK – Next week, will be Mystery Reader Week during lunchtime where students guess the reader and the books read out loud to them. 
 

Average Total Minutes/Students in Each Classroom - Week 2

Average Minutes/Students in Each Classroom – Week 2

Ms. Leggett – 125 minutes

Ms. Carter – 216 minutes
Ms. Livingston – 193 minutes
Ms. Way – 180 minutes
Ms. Foley – 369 minutes
Ms. McLane – 150 minutes
Ms. Gagner – 323 minutes
Ms. Pierpont – 318 minutes
 Ms. Primo –  188 minutes
Highest rate of participation was Ms. Foley’s classroom at 91% and they are the top classroom for Week 2.

School-wide Total Minutes - 53,940 minutes!

School-wide Average Total Minutes Read - 232minutes


Top Reader in Each Grade - Week 2

Kindergarten – Sophie Underwood
1^st Grade – Jack Stratz
2^nd Grade – Isla Underwood
3^rd Grade – Whitney Dykstra
4^th Grade – Desmond Carrico
5^th Grade – Owen Kelliher
6^th Grade – Kassidy Jay
Teacher/Staff – Ms. Cota


Here are our new Mountain Lion Readers from Week 2:

Week 1 Results are In!

Week 1 Results are In!

What a fantastic first "week” (March 4-6) of reading! It was very exciting to see the reading logs come in and all the wonderful minutes read by the students.  A special thanks to Jen Stanley and John McNerney for helping with the tallying.  A reminder that if your student forgot their log on Monday, if they bring it in this coming Monday, March 14th, their minutes from Week 1 still count!  We will back log their minutes.  

Also, the first time students bring in their reading log, they will receive a coupon for a free cone at Ben & Jerry's.  Each student will get only one coupon on their first time turning in the log, whether their first time was this past week or if their "first time" is in a week ahead. We are grateful to Ben & Jerry's for donating these passes to Monkton Central students!   

We are happy to announce the average total minutes/students in each classroom and the top reader in each grade:

Average Total Minutes/Students in Each Classroom - Week 1
Ms. Leggett - 55 minutes
Ms. Carter - 54 minutes
Ms. Livingston - 28 minutes
Ms. Way - 49 minutes
Ms. Foley - 115 minutes
Ms. McLane - 28 minutes
Ms. Gagner - 55 minutes
Ms. Pierpont - 92 minutes
Ms. Primo - 66 minutes

Highest rate of participation was Ms. Foley’s classroom at 83% and they are the top classroom for Week 1.

School-wide Total Minutes - 10,521 minutes!

School-wide Average Total Minutes Read - 60 minutes


Top Reader in Each Grade - Week 1
Kindergarten - Sophie Underwood
1st Grade - Madelynn Waggoner
2nd Grade - Isla Underwood
3rd Grade - Whitney Dykstra
4th Grade - Ian Funke
5th Grade - Owen Kelliher
6th Grade - Kassidy Jay
Teacher/Staff - Ms. Gagner


A reminder that Rock and Read is happening this week giving students an opportunity to spend time reading while in a rocking chair that will be in classrooms this week.

We also wanted to share with you a photo of “Rocket” who made an appearance at the Read-a-thon Kick-off and was seen in the halls yesterday morning encouraging kids to “launch into reading!”  They had fun trying to guess Rocket's identity.  Let's keep on reading!

 "Rocket" makes an appearance reading a book at the Kick-off!

Our graph outside the library of average minutes read by classrooms for Week 1.  Watch as each class's rocket launch upwards as the average minutes read go up each week!

Here are some books that students are excited to read during the Read-a-thon!

Launch into Reading!

Welcome to the Monkton Central School Read-a-thon blog! 

It's that time again for our Spring fundraiser!  We loved all the enthusiastic participation of our students in our last two Read-a-thons and the support of our school and local community, that we are excited to do it again.  This year, our read-a-thon theme is "Launch into Reading!"  Students will be looking for sponsors to pledge money for the minutes they will read beginning Friday, February 12th and will start their month long reading challenge from March 4-April 4th.

This blogsite is a way for students and parents to get more information (see the "About" and "Forms" tabs) as well as a well for all family, friends, community members, parents and students to see our journey through books. We will be posting our classroom tallies, photos from special events like the author visit and Character Dress-up Day, as well as encouragement for students to keep on reading!

If you would like to Sponsor a child and pledge money towards the Read-a-Thon, please let your child's classroom teacher or Holly Esterline, school librarian, know. If you are a community member and would like to Sponsor a child who might be in need of a Sponsor, please email Anna Lester at alester@smcvt.edu.

We look forward to this important fundraiser that also is a celebration of reading!