Students and staff members at the Will Rogers Early Childhood Center have been enjoying fun reading activities recently.
Home to kindergarten and pre-kindergarten students, Will Rogers kicked off its first annual Read-a-Thon fundraising event in early March in conjunction with the birthday of famed children's author Dr. Seuss. The Little Ropers collected pledges from friends and family members, who were asked to make a donation for each book that the students read.
At the conclusion of the Read-a-Thon, the Little Ropers had read 2,800 books while collecting more than $8,500. The money will be used by the Will Rogers parent-teacher organization to purchase some “wish list” items for teachers' classrooms.
Four students – Hannah Lindsley, Briley Ann Brown, Asher Phillips and William Shiflet were recognized for their outstanding efforts during the Read-a-Thon. They were celebrated with a limo ride to Washington Park Mall where they received a drink and a pretzel as well as a free book from Waldenbooks.
Will Rogers played host to “Dinner With Mrs. Wishy-Washy” last month with the help of the school's PTO organization as well as Home National Bank. As families gathered and dined along with their youngsters – approximately 600 hotdogs were served during the event – Mrs. Wishy-Washy visited with everyone, talking about the books which have been written about her.
The goal of the evening was to show families how much fun it can be interacting with a book while learning literacy concepts. After dinner, students and their family members went into classrooms at Will Rogers where teachers modeled a read-aloud session.
Recognized for their outstanding efforts during the first annual Will Rogers Early Childhood Center Read-a-Thon are (from left) Hannah Lindsley, Briley Ann Brown, Asher Phillips and William Shiflet. Among the foursome's prize package was a limo ride.