This year the 3^rd graders participated in a program entitled Reading Counts with the intent of increasing the amount of time they spend reading. We are pleased to announce that, as a grade level, they read 4,696 books and 41,426,273 words! The value of building a habit to read daily and learn to love reading is immeasurable. It is also one of the most important indicators of academic success for a child, as every other subject relies on a student’s ability to read and understand what was read.

The 40-Book Challenge is a year-long activity in which students are to read 40 books that are from different genres, such as poetry, science fiction, fantasy, and non-fiction to name a few. This year the 5^th grade had eight students complete the challenge: Aidan Sharma, Isaac Melamed, Lillian Hughes, Elena Yue, Ruthie Grossman, Valentina Lovse, Matthew Ravida and Cami Rabago. Fourth graders also did a wonderful job. To celebrate their fantastic reading, they had lunch from Slicers with chips, lemonade, iced tea and everyone’s favorite, Nothing Bundt Cakes.  Keep up the great reading!