‘Blizzard of Books’
a real page-turner for local students
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — More than 2,100 books were read recently by Pine Street and Zippel elementary school children as part of the second annual Read-a-thon, sponsored by the Presque Isle Elementary PTO.
VANESSA HAINES, a second-grader at Pine Street Elementary School, was a recent weekly winner in the second annual Read-a-thon, sponsored by the Presque Isle Elementary PTO. As a weekly winner, Haines received a book courtesy of the PTO. Congratulating Haines is Christa Galipeau, Read-a-thon chair. More than 2,100 books were read from Feb. 27-March 30 by Pine Street and Zippel elementary school children during the event. 
“We encouraged the kids to each read two books a week, or 10 books for the entire Read-a-thon,” said Christa Galipeau, Read-a-thon chair. “Some kids read a lot more than that, but we thought that was an attainable goal for most students. It could either be a picture book or a chapter in a chapter book. That way we could involve everybody from kindergarten to grade 5. For the little kids, they could be read to by their parents and that would count. Plus it made it more of a family activity.”
Galipeau said the students’ response to the Read-a-thon was “huge.”
“It went very, very well. At Pine Street, we had 89 kids take part and they read a total of 1,408 books or chapters,” she said. “At Zippel, we had 102 kids take part and they read 757 books/chapters. We had more kids involved at Zippel, but they read less books and that may be because they were reading bigger books.
“At Pine Street we had a couple of kids that read over 100 books each,” said Galipeau. “Every child that read a book received a certificate for participation. If they reached the goal of reading two books a week or 10 books during that period, they got a bookworm bookmark. This year we’ll be giving a tote bag to the student that read the most books and the student that brings in the most money in each grade. Money is typically pledged by family and friends. Some people give so much per book while others give a flat donation. We do this as a fundraiser, but that’s more the icing on the cake. Our real objective is getting kids to read.”
The Read-a-thon, which was held Feb. 27-March 30, raised $1,344.50.
“We try to do it from the time of February break to April break and work it in with the school schedule,” said Galipeau. “That’s also during the time when the schools hold their family reading nights and book fairs, so we try to tie it all together.”
To create a visual for the students, each child was given 10 paper snowflakes.
“When they read a book or a chapter, they could write their name and the name of the book on the snowflake and turn it in. Every week, of all the snowflakes that were turned in, we chose a weekly winner at each school and those kids got their names posted in the hallway and they won a book provided by the PTO,” Galipeau said. “All the snowflakes that were turned in were taped up on the wall to build a ‘Blizzard of Books,’ which was our theme. The kids enjoyed looking for their snowflakes or seeing their friends’ snowflakes. The snowbanks at each school were well over eight feet tall and several feet wide.”
The Read-a-thon will become an annual event and something the students and families can plan on.
“It’s really great to see the kids taking an interest,” said Galipeau. “They were very proud to see their snowflakes on the wall. That was a big part of it for them.
“We’re very happy with how well the Read-a-thon went,” she said. “We had hoped to have 1,000-1,500 books read and we ended up with over 2,100. It will continue to build each year. Last year, we had about 55 kids between the two schools take part and they read between 300-400 books. It wasn’t publicized much; we sent a letter home to generate interest. We really promoted it this year and got the teachers behind it and that really helped make a difference. We couldn’t be happier.”
