Bixby school celebrates 1 million pages read
BY KIM ARCHER World Staff Writer
Saturday, February 02, 2013
2/02/13 at 6:16 AM
BIXBY - In three months, students and teachers at Central Intermediate School read 1 million pages, beating every other Bixby school in the Million Page Challenge.
"We're the smallest school in Bixby, and we're the first to make that milestone," Assistant Principal Jennifer Colvin said. "I think that speaks volumes for our students."
In October, Bixby Superintendent Kyle Wood launched the "Year of the Reader" initiative, challenging each of the district's schools to log 1 million pages of reading by the end of the school year.
On Friday, Central Intermediate held a celebration in the gym with balloons, cupcakes, the Tulsa City-County Library mascot "Buddy the Bookworm" and the Chick-Fil-A cow. Every child at the school - more than 500 students in fourth through sixth grades - received a coupon for a free kid's meal from Chick-Fil-A.
"Just because we hit a million doesn't mean we have to stop here," Principal Brenda Anderson told students.
In fact, Colvin said students have continued to log their reading and had reached 1.124 million pages as of Friday afternoon.
"Our teachers were diligent in getting the students to log in their pages," she said.
Fourth-grader Patrick Novak, 9, was the top student reader, logging 23,031 pages. For his effort, he received a $25 Walmart gift card.
"I read every day," he said. "I think all my friends had a lot of books so I wanted to beat them."
Patrick said he prefers to read fiction because "it has a lot of figurative language."
"Adult books don't have pictures, so I can really imagine what things look like," he said.
At present, Patrick is reading "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days."
"Reading encourages you for more things in life and gets you ready for college," he said.
The student who read the second-highest number of pages was 11-year-old Allison Peters, who is in the fifth grade. She logged 17,638 pages and received a $20 Walmart gift card.
"I didn't even know I was going to be up there," she said of her recognition at the rally. "I was shaking."
Allison said she has always loved to read, particularly big books.
"I read all the time. I can read a 200-page book in a day and a half," she said.
She said she enjoys Peg Kehret books, particularly "The Stranger Next Door."
"It draws me in," she said. "The action starts right when you open the book."
Allison's classmate, 11-year-old Caleb Cooper, read the third-highest number of pages, at 17,223. He said he suspected that he might be one of the top readers.
"I just love to read," he said. "I'm not very fast, but I like to get every detail."
Caleb said he enjoys books by Mike Lupica, a sports columnist for the New York Daily News. Lupica also writes sports-related novels, as well as autobiographies and other genres.
Cooper received a $15 Walmart gift card for his effort.
His plan for the money?
"I'll probably just buy another book."
Original Print Headline: Students have a million reasons to celebrate
Kim Archer 918-581-8315
kim.archer@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Central Intermediate School fourth-grader Patrick Novak, 9, read more than 23,000 pages as the top student reader in Bixby's Million Page Challenge. Second place went to Allison Peters and third to Caleb Cooper. STEPHEN PINGRY/Tulsa World
Students at Bixby's Central Intermediate School give high-fives to "Buddy the Bookworm," the Tulsa City-County Library's mascot, on Friday. The school was the first in Bixby to reach the goal 1 million pages read in the Million Page Challenge. STEPHEN PINGRY/Tulsa World
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