EPHRATA — A roar of screaming and cheering students could be heard from St. Rose of Lima Catholic School in Ephrata Friday afternoon, as students threw pies at teachers.

Several students threw “pies,” whipped-cream slathered paper plates, at the faces of school staff as a reward for participating in the month-long St. Rose Read-A-Thon.

During March, students read as many books as they could to raise money for school programs. The students who read the most were rewarded by being able to throw the pies.

Third-grader Dagny Ahrend read the most pages and raised the most money, $269, said event organizer and teacher Neili Marozzo. Since Ahrend raised the most money, she got to throw two pies.

As the whipped cream accumulated on the playground, several students were diving over each other to steal a taste from a thrown plate.

Kindergartner Essynse Powers read more than 1,200 pages. Marozzo said it’s unusual for a kindergartner to be able to read so much, so quickly.

Roughly 12,000 pages were read overall among the students who participated and $974 were raised.

Four kindergartners and 14 first-graders earned Independent Reader Medals, she said. Some students wore the medals on their necks during the event.

To earn the medals, the students had to read at least 20 books and take a computer test to prove their knowledge about what they read, Marozzo said. They must also read at least three books at a higher grade-level and pass the computer exams on their own.

Powers earned one of the medals.

She said she read several Dr. Seuss books and her favorite Clifford the Big Red Dog books.

It’s the first time the event was held at the school, Marozzo said. There is consideration to make the event an annual fund-raiser because of the positive response from the students. The purpose of the event is to encourage reading and to keep youth passionate about the activity.