On Monday, March 2 and 3, Ayala hosted a Read-a-thon event to celebrate Read Across America, an annual reading awareness program, which takes place on Dr. Seuss’s birthday. Teacher Librarian Mrs. Anna Lee planned a two-day competition, inviting students to embrace literature and reading during school.
“It’s an opportunity to celebrate the joy of reading amongst children and teens across America, and I thought it would be such a great thing to celebrate that at Ayala and spotlight most improved readers and those that are reading, and make it celebratory,” Lee said.
Read Across America was established in 1988 by the National Education Association. It has since grown into the largest celebration of reading in the United States. Considering that 40% of U.S. students can’t read at a basic level, this event is a key factor in nurturing an interest in reading for adolescents nationwide.
Each day, Lee raffled Raising Cane’s Combo gift cards, each student entry being entered into a grand prize drawing, which included a basket of Raising Cane’s merchandise and a Box Combo gift card.
“I made sure to include lots of prizes, which is the Raising Cane’s box combo cards, so a huge shoutout to Raising Cane’s for gifting us those gift cards,” Lee said.
In order to earn a raffle ticket, Bulldogs were encouraged to participate by wearing a book-themed T-shirt, reading a Drop Everything and Read (DEAR) book in English class, contributing to a collective Padlet, being voted Most Improved Reader by the English department, and getting caught reading in the library during lunch.
“I think that the prizes were really good and it serves as a great motivator for people to read,” Anna Chung (12) said.
Over 1550 students entered the Padlet submission, each sharing the book they read during English class and explaining why they chose to read it. Books ranged from nonfiction like “Atomic Habits,” by James Clear, to classic literature like “Jane Eyre,” by Charlotte Brontë.
“I read ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley,” said Eva Alcantara (12). “I chose to read this book because I’m at a point where it really draws my attention. But I think the competition was a good way to get me reading again.”
By the end of the Read-a-thon competition, there were over 30 Bulldog winners, including Most Improved Readers Timur Polyakov (12) and Daniella Stabio (12), DEAR Padlet winners Allison Vazquez (9) and Kathleen Chang (11), and daily raffle winners Sofia Uribe (10) and Floria Cao (10).
“Having a competitive reading event really opened the door for reading, allowing students to find different ways to explore books and earn prizes along the way, as seen with the winners,” Alcantara said.
The Grand Prize winner was Sophia Grace Rivera (9), who was also caught reading in the library. Rivera is a great example of a proficient reader who spends her time enjoying literature at school.
“I am so happy that Sophia became the grand prize raffle winner for the Basket of Raising Cane’s merchandise and a set of gift cards. She was super excited, really surprised, and she even emailed me after school letting me know that her parents were excited for her,” Lee said.
