CES announces first-month Reading Counts winners
Comet staff report

Carroll Elementary announces this year's first winners in the school's Reading Counts program.

Reading Counts is a computer based reading program that allows students to read books and to take quizzes on the computer to test their comprehension.

The top grade level in points accumulation for September was fourth grade.

Individual winners in each grade level by earning the most points were:

Second grade - Gannon Guinn.

Third grade - Kandice Ayres.

Fourth grade - Sydney Francis.

Fifth grade - Kayla Sheagley.

Sixth grade - Zach Turnpaugh.

First graders will also participate, beginning in November.

Carroll's program is coordinated by Jill Kressley, school librarian, and Kathy Shuler, Reading Specialist.

Books in the program are available in the school library, and students select which books they want to read.

This year's theme is "Reaching for the Stars with Reading Counts." Each book is assigned a point value based on the difficulty of reading. Shuler said this year's goal is 30,000 points.

"In the first month of the program, the students earned 2,596 points," she said.

Shuler explained that students receive rewards for the points they earn. For the fourth through sixth graders, students receive points "dollars" that they can cash in for prizes. First through third graders choose from prize categories when they receive a certain amount of points. There is a 10 points prize box, a 25 box, a 50 to 75 box, and a box of prizes for 100 or more points.

"We encourage good reading through this program," Shuler said.

For the month of October, grade levels have challenged each other to try to earn 100% participation. Second graders have challenged the third graders. Fourth graders have challenged the fifth graders, and sixth graders have challenged the seventh graders.

Both Shuler and Kressley keep track of point totals. At the end of the year, the three top point winners from each grade level receive reading medals (gold, silver, and bronze).

"If our school meets its goal, then the whole school has a special celebration," Shuler said.