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Hilltop readers walk the ‘Red Carpet’
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Neighbors | Grace Wyler .Three Hilltop students celebrate their reading success at the school's monthly Red Carpet Reader ceremony Mar. 8. The program, organized by parent volunteers, encourages students to read recreationally.
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Neighbors | Grace Wyler .A second-grade student shows off his 007 moves for his walk down the red carpet during Hilltop Elementary School's Red Carpet Reader ceremony Mar. 8. The monthly event awards students who have read for fun every day.
By GRACE WYLER
gwyler@vindy.com
The kids of Hilltop Elementary School showed just how much they love to read last month, when 47 percent of the student body read for fun every day in February.
The readers were recognized for their commitment to reading at the school’s Red Carpet Readers ceremony Mar. 8. Kids took turns walking the red carpet in front of their classmates and parent “paparazzi” in the cafeteria. The readers’ autographed stars and photos are displayed on the Hilltop readers wall of fame.
The fanfare of the Red Carpet Readers event helps inspire other students to read, said Cathy Mowry, the school’s principal. In February, 235 students read every day, up from 177 in January.
“Children are encouraged to read every day, and once a month we celebrate the kids who read for fun,” she said. “They get really excited about it. It just doesn’t get any better than this.”
Red Carpet Readers is a monthly program organized by parent volunteers as an extension of Hilltop’s reading and literacy curriculum.
The students work on a different skill during their recreational reading — students read to improve summarization in February. In March, students will focus on “reading to make new friends,” or characterization.
In addition to their impressive reading efforts, Hilltop students raised $2,166.71 during the school’s annual CHRISTIE Campaign in February.
The CHRISTIE — Children Helping Readers In Situations That Involve Everyone — Campaign is an annual read-a-thon that benefits Akron Children’s Hospital.
Students collect pledges from family and friends for books they read at home. The money collected is used to buy books for patients at the hospital’s Beeghly Campus. Hilltop has raised $30,317.87 and donated 12,504 books in the 12 years since the campaign began.
The campaign also features themed activities to get students excited about reading. The theme of this year’s campaign was “Follow the Yellow Brick Road to a Good Book,” in honor of the 110th anniversary of “The Wizard of Oz.”