Skipping down the yellow brick road, soaring on a broomstick above the towers of Hogwarts, swimming in the icy waters of the Antarctic; all this was made possible as elementary students entered different worlds, countries, and cultures through the very pages they held in their hands. 

On February 25th, 2022, the elementary school kickstarted their Read-A-Thon with an assembly filled with dancing, singing, a skit by the ES leadership team, and announcements of prizes that could be won! 

Read-A-Thon spans three weeks where reading is a focus and priority. Students are encouraged to read more each day and designated DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) time is given in the classrooms each day. Igniting a love of reading from a young age nurtures lifelong learners, and sparks imagination, curiosity, and academic success. As a school, this event highlights the importance of reading in a tangible and exciting way for our young learners. They are encouraged to talk about books, share books, summarize, predict, and reflect on themes and lessons learned from books, not just at school but at home, too. 

By the end of the opening assembly, students were ready to read - and read a lot - to achieve their goals! Unfortunately for the principals, the goal all students were aiming for was to hand in 1,024 reading logs as a whole school. This would guarantee that Mr. Benedict, Mrs. Treviño, and Mrs. Wilcox would get pied in the face. Chants of “Pie them in the face, pie them in the face!” were heard as the students exited the auditorium at the end of the assembly. 

The Elementary hallways were bursting with vibrant scenes that depicted settings from a variety of books and stories. Students were able to explore the tundra in kindergarten as they passed icebergs and igloos with Tacky the Penguin. The first grade hallway was filled with color as students entered the world of Peter Reynolds where all were inspired to be artists and create like Vashti in The Dot and Ramon in Ish. They could be a king, queen, prince, or princess in the Kingdoms created by second grade, be it Narnia, Ancient China, Zimbabwe, or Sleeping Beauty’s magical kingdom. Many spied a witch or wizard strolling down the candlelit corridors of Hogwarts in third grade and possibly collided with a dragon or two in the emerald-colored fantasy world of fourth grade. Last but not least, strings of goldfish and a giant, ancient dragon created by our fifth grade students loomed high in their hallway, depicting scenes from Grace Lin’s Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. 

During the three weeks, the elementary school students were busy wearing pajamas and eating pancakes, dressing up as their favorite book characters, and reading, reading, reading. Students were reading in the classrooms, reading in the hallways, reading at home while climbing door frames, upside down, and with all of their stuffed toys! But did they turn in enough reading logs to pie the principals in the face? 

For our closing assembly on March 25, Mr. Benedict, our principal, read a wonderful book by Oliver Jeffers, The Incredible Book Eating Boy where he highlighted the lesson that books provide knowledge and joy! The prizes for level three readers, generously donated by the PTA, ranged from an iPad mini, giant Lego collections, backpacks, books, and so much more! Winners were drawn, prizes were awarded, and no matter how the principals tried to forget about that pie, the chants of “Pie them in the face, pie them in the face!” could not be ignored. 

The question on every student’s mind was… “Did we get 1,024 reading logs handed in?” 

They did not. 

No, they turned in… 1,252 reading logs!

Pies were thrown, a mess was made, and the students danced as they exited to the new 2022 Read-A-Thon music video!