Olympic Reading
Challenge Yields
More than Gold for
Pleasant Valley Students
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PE TE RS TOWN SH IP SC H OO L DI S TRI C T NE WS
eters Township
A
s the 2014 Olympic Winter
Games were unfolding in
Sochi, the students and staff at
Pleasant Valley Elementary School
embarked on an Olympic journey
of their own! Each year, students
are presented with the Principal’s
Reading Challenge, an 11-day event
that inspires them to not only read
new books, but to step out of their
comfort zone and read books from
other genres. This year, the theme of
the challenge was aligned with the
Winter Olympics.
“Events like this go beyond
increasing students’ reading skills
— they also encourage students to
love reading,” said Pleasant Valley
Principal Michael Fisher.
A cornerstone of Pleasant Valley’s
culture is creating a place where
staff, students, and parents can
work together to learn and grow.
The goals of the Principal’s Reading
Challenge coincide with that
outlook perfectly. The theme for this
year’s challenge evolved during an
August in-service day, when veteran
teacher Joyce Rodgers shared her
idea of tying the event to the Winter
Olympics. The reading challenge was a true team effort, with PV
staff members working together to bring the plan to fruition.
To kick off the Reading Challenge, singing custodian Harry
Kehran employed his musical talents to perform “C’mon PV,
Light the Fire” on PV-TV, with lyrics written by reading specialist
Sandy McWilliams. Librarian Nancy Barley created displays
of new books to entice students to ramp up their reading;
classroom teachers served as “coaches” for their teams, weaving
the books into classroom lessons; and paraprofessional Louise
Ratay used her artistic talents to design authentic displays that
would allow students to monitor their progress toward a gold
medal, including an Olympic cauldron filled with “flames” that
would represent each classroom meeting its goal.
“Our focus isn’t always who reads the most, but to expose
students to a variety of books to help them develop a love and
excitement for reading,” says Barley.
While the reading challenge is traditionally an individual
effort, in the true spirit of the Olympic Games, Pleasant
Valley offered a team element to the challenge. To earn their
classroom’s gold medal and flame in the Olympic torch, student
could each read ten books or
ten chapters in a longer book;
the teacher could read ten
books to the class, followed by
comprehension questions; or the
students could read as part of a
relay, where each member of the
relay would read part of a book
(10 books in all), and pass it along.
“The team aspect took the
pressure off students who are not
typically the strongest readers,”
says Ratay. This element
transformed what could have
been a daunting task into a team
approach, where every student
was excited to do his or her part to
help the class achieve gold.
Parent Suzie Bode found that
the event challenged her
kindergartener to read entire
books on his own, rather than
focusing on just sight words.
“As a family, we used the
Principal’s challenge to encourage
this type of reading as an
enjoyable activity, because we
know there are often times when
required reading is not as much
fun,” Bode said.
Olympic challenge or not, every member of the Pleasant
Valley team is focused on helping students to become better
readers, creating an environment where reading will evolve into
achievement. Schools across the state are given an academic
performance score called the School Performance Profile. This
score is based not only on test scores, but many other factors
that signal student achievement. Out of a possible 100, Pleasant
Valley students earned a score of 97.1 overall.
At the end of the 11 days, each classroom at Pleasant
Valley had earned a gold medal, filling their torches with colorful
symbols to represent the teamwork of students and staff alike.
Students were treated to a “gold” Smiley Cookie as a reward
for their efforts courtesy of the Pleasant Valley PTA, and staff
members enjoyed the pride that was evident on all of their
young Olympians’ faces. Best of all, even though the challenge
has come to a close, books are continuing to fly off the shelves
at the library.
“Even though the reading challenge has come to an end, our
students’ enthusiasm for reading continues to flourish,” said
Barley. And that is the best reward of all.
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28 Peters Township