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Reading Promoted At Schools Prior To Closure
RAR
Earlier this month students were captured reading in celebration of Read Across Riverbank. Photo Contributed

During the month of March schools all around the country celebrate reading with Read Across America. Riverbank Unified School District usually celebrates reading all month long with a variety of contests and activities. Due to school closures the festivities have been cut short. However, students at each of the elementary school sites including California Avenue Elementary, Mesa Verde Elementary, and Riverbank Language Academy (RLA) have been “Wild About Reading” the past few weeks.

The celebration of reading began earlier this month with specific dress days like crazy sock day, wild hair day, and backwards day. The afterschool program was tracking how many books and pages the students at each site read each week. Last week students got to have a friendly competition with a poster contest. The students were asked to create an 11-by-14 poster with the “Wild About Reading” theme for 2020. The first and second place winners won a drawstring backpack full of goodies.

Afterschool Program Advisor Monica Villarreal explained that students in grades TK to third grade filled out a reading log and fourth and fifth graders filled out a books in a jar slip.

“Each week we choose a winner from the class that reads the most,” she said. “We choose one winner per grade. Each winner receives a gift bag, book, and a Rock Star Reader award.”

Middle school students at both Cardozo Middle School and RLA participated in Read Across Riverbank by reading articles and filling out articles in a jar slip. The middle school students in the afterschool program that participated were eligible for prizes.

The rest of the month’s festivities have been canceled as schools are slated to close on March 19 until after spring break; tentatively resuming on April 20.