Ridgewood’s Reading Marathon
Although we read every night n my family–individually and together–I love when the Reading Marathon rolls around. Suddenly, reading becomes a big celebration that the whole community shares. At our elementary school, we look forward to this month for One Book, One School. The kids excitedly listen for questions about their book every Monday morning and try to be the first class to answer correctly. The town comes alive with events like the kickoff with Ben & Jerry Ice cream and Jim the Jester.
Participants track how many books and/or pages that they read during the month of February. Almost 3,400 students participate and the elementary schools have achieved close to 100% participation in past years!
Preschool and kindergarten students can earn Gold Medals by reading 9+ books. Students in grades 1 through 5 who read 12+ books, or 500+ pages, and submit a parent-signed form by March 2 get free ice cream from Ben & Jerrys and have a chance to win other prizes. Sibel Berberoglu, owner of Ben & Jerry’s in Ridgewood,has supported the Marathon for the 11 years and generously donates 1000’s of scoops of free ice cream!
Middle school students who read 750+ pages and return parent-signed forms on time have a chance to win $25 gift cards, movie tickets or one of four Vermonsters, Ben & Jerry’s gargantuan ice cream sundaes.
Not only does this month-long event encourage us all to read, it also raises money for books and media and programs like as Robotics, Mango online language learning service, Summer Reading Club and The Reel Voices Film Festival.
Participation in the Reading Marathon Fundraiser is free of charge, however families are asked to consider supporting the Ridgewood Public Library by making a donation of any amount. Look for Reading Marathon forms to come home in your child’s backpack, at the Ridgewood Library or on the Library’s website: www.ridgewoodlibrary.org.
For more information, contact the Children’s Center at 201-670-5600 x110.
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