Plains elementary school students celebrated their reading achievements and “I Love to Read Month” last week with class parties and a book fair.

February was “I Love to Read Month,” and students in grades Kindergarten through sixth collected a point for every book they read.  The points were added up and scored collectively as a class.  Individual students who read the most in their class were given the chance to throw a plate of whipped cream at school administrators, during parties on Thursday and Friday last week.

“This event is all about getting kids to read, and all about the reward.  Today throwing a pie at my face is the reward for them,” said Thom Chisholm, the superintendent for Plains schools.  Chisholm taught at Plains High School for 18 years, and has been the superintendent for eight months. 

“This is a nice precursor to spring; everyone knows it has been a long winter.  I guess these parties is our version of displacing the kids’ cabin fever,” said Chisholm.

Students also were able to make “wish-lists” of which books they would want from the Scholastic Book Fair.  Jean Nemeth, a Title One teacher, helped organize and plan the parties and book fair.

“We are all coming together for the kids and making reading fun for them.  The celebration starts after the month is over.” said Nemeth.  “It all went really well – the kids especially enjoyed the pie throwing and treats; I heard teachers had to lift the Kindergartners up to get the whipped cream thrown on the administrators.”

“The students write wish-lists and then their parents can come and buy what their kids want to read,” said Denise Earhart, a teacher’s aid and music teacher, who helped organize the pie throwing parties, which were a carnival theme. 

“I can go a lot of different places in books,” said Spencer Henning, a second grader who enjoyed the book fair on Thursday.  “I like chapter books the most, but I just love to read almost anything.”

“I Love to Read Month” also coincided with another event called “Bikes for Books.” 

The Masons of Ponemah Lodge came to classes third through sixth grades to award a bicycle to the winner of each class.  Five bikes were given away, one per grade and a wild card name.

“Bikes for Books,” in its sixth year, is a state program paid for by lodges, which donate about $30,000 to match funds to buy bikes for students across the state who are top readers, said Chisholm.

According to Nemeth, the profit made from the book fair goes basically back to the students, as every child in Kindergarten through seventh grade will get a book. There also is usually enough money left over to hold a  fair for the next year.