Final Results!

Final Results!

With our Read-a-thon theme, Reading is A Winning Strategy!, we hope that the time students spent reading that helped explore new books and discover more about themselves and the world around them.

Our final tally of total minutes read was really impressive – 145,817 total minutes read by students, teachers, and staff in 30 days! We had 148 students, teachers, and staff participate by turning in reading logs at least once throughout the month and 76 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 $3,465.93  for PTO activities such as trips to the Flynn Theater, classroom field trips, providing after school enrichment opportunities, 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, Drop Everything And Read, Harry Bliss’s author visit, 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 mascot PAWS and the committee members Holly Esterline, Betsy Knox, Melissa Vorsteveld, Sarah Rougier, Theresa Schwegel, Cathy Cashman, Adrienne Raphael, and Anna Lester.  A special thanks to parent volunteers Betsy Brown, John McNerney, Jen Stanley, Cathy and Brian Cashman, Sarah Rougier, and Theresa and Eva Schwegel for help with tallying and counting.

Top readers – students who read the most cumulative minutes over the 30 days

Kindergarten – Samantha B.

Grade 1 – Silas C.

Grade 2 – Toby H.

Grade 3 – Callie R.

Grade 4 – Megan B. & Benji H.

Grade 5 – Valkyrja H.

Grade 6 – Whitney D.

Teacher – Ms. Cota

Top Classroom with highest percent participation over 5 weeks by having 100% participation all 5 weeks and earning an ice cream party is Ms. Carter's Kindergarten class!

Raffle Prizes – (All raffle prizes will be sent home with students on Friday).

Autographed copies of Harry Bliss’s books:

          Good Rosie – Tim H.

          Good Rosie – Aubrey C.

          Anna and Solomon – Hailey I.

          Anna and Solomon – Ezra H.

          Grace for Gus – Ezra S.

          My Favorite Pets – Valkyrja H.

Two movie tickets to Marquis Movie Theater in Middlebury – Hannah P.

6 passes for bowling Spare Time Free – Bryn W.

Free 6” sub coupons to Subway – Silas C.

Gift card for Almost Home in Bristol – William Z.

Gift card for Emerald’s Gifts in Bristol – Andy K.

Gift card for Monkton General Store – Ian B.

Gift card for Amazon – Megan B.

Two passes for a Beginner Package at Petra Cliffs – Ivy A.

Family Day Pass to Shelburne Museum – Violet L.

One Month Family Membership at The Edge – Kaiden P.

One Month Family Membership at The Edge – Alison B.

One Month Family Membership at The Edge – Spencer S.

One Month Family Membership at The Edge – Johnny S.

Reading is A Winning Strategy surprise!
For all the students who earned Mountain Lion Reader status, they got to vote on teachers or staff members who volunteered to do something exciting at the Closing Ceremony. Students who completed the BINGO card on the back of the reading log got their vote counted twice.  There was a tie for the teacher/staff with the most votes this year - Ms. Livingston and Mr. Davis.  They were "contestants" on the Price is Right Plinko game where they won a "prize" depending on which slot the plinko chip landed in.  Scroll down through photos below of our final week and a video of the Plinko game.

Our hallway graph and posters:

Here is our wall of Mountain Lion Readers:

So many great books read during the last 30 days:

Celebrating our total minutes, pledges, participants, and Mountain Lion Readers at our Closing Ceremony!

Our top readers in each grade and top staff:

Our top classroom of readers who had 100% participation all 5 weeks - Ms. Carter's Kindergarten class!

Click below to see the video of our Plinko game with Ms. Livingston and Mr. Davis. 

Monkton Central School Closing Ceremony 2019

Week 4 - 112,896 minutes read so far!

Week 4 - 112,896 minutes read so far!

Week 4 results are in! We have had another incredible week with 112,896 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 21 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 1st. Students who bring in both of these to school will be entered into a raffle for prizes such as gift certificates and other items!  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 on Thursday if possible.

Participation for Each Classroom – Week 4

Ms. Carter– 90%

Ms. Lynch – 69%

Ms. Livingston – 92%

Ms. Totu – 91%

Ms. Kuzio – 62%

Ms. McLane – 61%

Ms. O’Sullivan – 70%

Ms. Pierpont – 78%

School-wide Total Minutes - 124,461 minutes

School-wide Average Total Minutes Read - 186 minutes

Top Reader in Each Grade - Week 4

Kindergarten – Samantha Becker

1^st Grade – Silas Cashman

2^nd Grade – Tobias Hamilton 

3^rd Grade – Callie Rule

4^th Grade – Benji Havey

5^th Grade – Johnny Stanley

6^th Grade – Whitney Dykstra

Teacher/Staff – Ms. Cota

Week 3 results - 81, 951 total minutes read so far!

Week 3 results - 81, 951 total minutes read so far!

Week 3 results are in! We have had an astounding 81,951 total minutes read by students so far! 

This week, we had 20 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 31. These readers earn a vote in which teacher or staff member do something “exciting" during the Closing Ceremony on Thursday, April 4th.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 – Harry Bliss Author Visit tomorrow – Tuesday, March 19^th. Harry Bliss is an internationally syndicated cartoonist and cover artist for the New Yorker magazine.  His self-titled single-panel gag cartoon, Bliss, appears in major newspapers across the United States and Japan.  Bliss also illustrates books for children including: A Fine, Fine School, Which Would You Rather Be?, Countdown to Kindergarten, and Mrs. Watson Wants Your Teeth.  Bliss's first cartoon collection was Death by Laughter.  Luke On the Loose is Bliss's debut award-winning comic book for early readers.  Bailey, a Parents magazine award-winner, was published by Scholastic in September of 2011, followed by Bailey at the Museum in 2012.  He recently illustrated Grandma in Blue with Red Hat.

Family Game Night – Friday, March 22^nd from 6-7:30pm in the MCS gym.  Monkton Central School Families put your game faces on and come compete with your peers, teachers, and parents at the MCS Read-a-thon Family Game Night.  The event is hosted by the Monkton PTO and the Russell Memorial Library.  It will run from 6:00-7:30pm on Friday, March 22nd in the MCS gym.  There will be snacks and the opportunity to enter a raffle to win some new books!  Hope to see you there! 

Next week: “Mystery Reader Week!”  A short passage from a book will be read during lunchtime and students will have the chance to guess the book title, author, and who is the “mystery reader.”

Participation for Each Classroom – Week 3

Ms. Carter – 90%

Ms. Lynch – 85%

Ms. Livingston – 92%

Ms. Totu – 96%

Ms. Kuzio – 67%

Ms. McLane – 78%

Ms. O’Sullivan – 78%

Ms. Pierpont – 87%

School-wide Total Minutes – 81,951 minutes

School-wide Average Total Minutes Read - 205 minutes

Top Reader in Each Grade - Week 3
Kindergarten – Samantha Becker

1^st Grade – Silas Cashman

2^nd Grade – Aurora Schauerte

3^rd Grade – Sophie Underwood

4^th Grade – Benji Havey

5^th Grade – Johnny Stanley

6^th Grade – Whitney Dykstra

Teacher/Staff – Ms. Cota

Tuesday, March 19th, will be our Author’s Visit by Harry Bliss, a Vermont author and illustrator.  Harry Bliss is an internationally syndicated cartoonist and cover artist for the New Yorker magazine.  His self-titled single-panel gag cartoon, Bliss, appears in major newspapers across the United States and Japan.  Bliss also illustrates books for children including: A Fine, Fine School, Which Would You Rather Be?, Countdown to Kindergarten, and Mrs. Watson Wants Your Teeth.  Bliss's first cartoon collection was Death by Laughter.  Luke On the Loose is Bliss's debut award-winning comic book for early readers.  Bailey, a Parents magazine award-winner, was published by Scholastic in September of 2011, followed by Bailey at the Museum in 2012.  He recently illustrated Grandma in Blue with Red Hat.

You can learn more about Harry Bliss at his website by clicking here. 

Week 2 Results

What a great second week of reading! We have had an astounding 31,611 total minutes read by students and teachers so far.  A reminder that if your student forgot their log on Monday, if they bring it in on Monday, March 18th. Every minute counts! Also, if students have misplaced their reading logs, extra copies can be found in the main office. And a reminder that children can continue finding sponsors any time through the end of March.  Special thanks to Betsy Brown, Brian Cashman, and Theresa Schwegel for helping to tally minutes Monday morning and Sarah Rougier for tallying and updating the hallway game board.  Any parent who would like to help tally minutes on Monday mornings are more than welcome…any help is appreciated!

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 11 students reach this goal.  These readers will receive a vote for which teacher or staff member will do something exciting during the Closing Ceremony on Thursday, April 4^th.  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 – Tuesday, March 19th—Author Visit: Harry Bliss (see separate blog post for more details!)

Friday, March 22nd—Monkton Central School Read-a-thon Family Game Night.  

Monkton Central School Families put your game faces on and come compete with your peers, teachers, and parents at the MCS Read-a-thon Family Game Night.  The event is hosted by the Monkton PTO and the Russell Memorial Library.  It will run from 6:00-7:30pm on Friday, March 22nd in the MCS gym.  There will be snacks and the opportunity to enter a raffle to win some new books!  Hope to see you there! 

Participation for Each Classroom – Week 2

Ms. Carter – 80%

Ms. Lynch – 85%

Ms. Livingston – 100%

Ms. Totu – 96%

Ms. Kuzio/Mr. Davis – 77%

Ms. McLane – 70%

Ms. O’Sullivan – 91%

Ms. Pierpont – 78%

School-wide Average Total Minutes Read - 195 minutes

Kindergarten – Ezra Hamilton

1^st Grade – Silas Cashman

2^nd Grade – Flint Crary

3^rd Grade – Rorrie Jay

4^th Grade – Alison Brown

5^th Grade – Johnny Stanley

6^th Grade – Whitney Dykstra

Teacher/Staff – Ms. Cota

Runners-Up in Each Grade - Week 2

Kindergarten – Wesley Raphael

1^st Grade – Violet Lambert

2^nd Grade – Toby Hamilton

3^rd Grade – Callie Rule

4^th Grade – Vivian King

5^th Grade – Isla Underwood

6^th Grade – Alex Henley

Teacher/Staff – Ms. McGovern

Week 1 Results are In!

Week 1 Results are In!

What a fantastic first "week” (March 1-3) of reading! Students, teachers, and staff already read 12,304 minutes! It was very exciting to see the reading logs come in and all the wonderful minutes read by the students. A special thanks to Betsy Brown and Theresa Schwegel 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 11^th, their minutes from Week 1 still count! We will back log their minutes. Also, if students have misplaced their reading logs, there are extra copies in the main office or can be downloaded from this blog under the "Forms" tab.

Also, you don’t need a sponsor to participate…every child can read and turn in the log even if they are unable to find sponsors.  However, if your child is in need of a sponsor, we do have community members who are willing to sponsor a child, so please let your student’s teacher or Holly Esterline know if you are interested in being matched with a community sponsor.

Finally, a special thanks to our 5^th and 6^th grade artists who created the sections of our hallway “game board” to track percent participation.  They drew Mystery Mountains, Sea of Fantasy, Adventure Alley, Non-Fiction Forest, and Graphic Novel Grasslands.  They are fantastic!  See below for pictures.

COMING UP THIS WEEK – D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything and Read).  Students take books with them throughout the day, and at random times each day, D.E.A.R. will be announced over the speaker.  Students and adults will drop everything and read for 10 minutes.  On Monday, March 11^th, we will have some surprise members of the Monkton Community who will drop everything and read with each class!

LOOKING FOR HELP –we always welcome anyone who might have time on Monday mornings from 8-9am, or whatever amount of time you are able to give, to tally reading logs.

We are happy to announce the participation in each classroom and the top reader in each grade:

Participation for Each Classroom – Week 1

Ms. Carter – 80%

Ms. Lynch – 54%

Ms. Livingston – 84%

Ms. Totu – 74%

Ms. Kuzio – 77%

Ms. McLane – 78%

Ms. O’Sullivan – 83%

Ms. Pierpont – 78%

Highest rate of participation was Ms. Livingston at 84%

School-wide Total Minutes - 12,304 minutes

School-wide Average Total Minutes Read - 77 minutes

Top Reader in Each Grade – Week 1

Kindergarten – Wesley Raphael

1^st Grade – Colton Fitzgerald

2^nd Grade – Toby Hamilton

3^rd Grade – Sophie Underwood

4^th Grade – Alison Brown

5^th Grade – Valkyrja Hotmer

6^th Grade – Bella Hartwell

Teacher/Staff – Ms. Cota

 We are ready to Read, Record, and then Collect at MCS!

Our "game board" outside the library tracks the percent participation for classrooms for Week 1 as a "game piece" for each class moves through the board.  Each class choose an image for their game piece to represent their class.

Sections of our game board drawn by 5/6 artists: Non-fiction Forest

Sections of our game board drawn by 5/6 artists: Adventure Alley

Sections of our game board drawn by 5/6 artists: Mystery Mountain

Sections of our game board drawn by 5/6 artists: Graphic Novel Grasslands

Sections of our game board drawn by 5/6 artists: Sea of Fantasy

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

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 five 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 "Reading is a Winning Strategy!"  Students will be looking for sponsors to pledge money for the minutes they will read beginning Friday, February 15th and will start their month long reading challenge from March 1-29th.

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, 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!