Students Celebrate Reading as iRead for 112 Foundation Kicks Off

The iRead for 112 Foundation reading contest kicked off at North Shore School District 112 schools last week, and fittingly, many schools had unique activities surrounding reading and learning.  For the next month, preschool and elementary students will vie to see who can read the most minutes outside of the school day.

Wayne Thomas and Sherwood schools celebrated Read Across America and Dr. Seuss week with a week’s worth of activities, including one day for reading in your pajamas day, and another to wear your hair as wild as a Truffula tree.

At Red Oak, the entire school saw an entertaining and educational show called Books are Full of Magic Words, both to kick off the iRead contest and to celebrate reaching the school’s goal of every classroom earning 50 or more rockets. Rockets are earned for demonstrating the Big 4 of good behavior: Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be a Problem Solver and Be Ready to Learn, which is part of the district’s PBIS initiative. The assembly featured a local magician, The Great Scott, who during the show incorporated children’s books and made a tortoise grow and a student float. At the end, he gave all children bookmarks with a list of recommended books that could transport them to magic places.

At Braeside, fourth-graders started a new literature unit on Alaska and the Iditarod, and got a special visit from Carol Preble, a musher who has served as an Iditarod volunteer. She brought along her snow sled, snow anchor, drop bag and her Siberian husky, Trapper, and showed a short movie about the Iditarod, which commemorates the transport of medication from Anchorage to Nome in the 1920s to provide treatment for children with diphtheria.

At Oak Terrace, students are gearing up for a musical production of Peter Pan, based on the character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J.M. Barrie. Performances will take place March 19 to March 21.

On Saturday, March 10, many students and their families came to the Deerfield Barnes and Noble, where North Shore School District 112 staff members volunteered to read aloud.

Students at Green Bay Early Childhood Center and all district elementary schools can participate in the iRead for 112 Foundation by keeping track of the number of minutes they spend reading outside the classroom between March 9 and April 9, and asking friends and families to sponsor them. Funds raised will go towards paying for author visits to district schools. There will be prizes based on the most minutes per student spent reading. For more information, go to the 112 Education Foundation iRead page.