Edgehill Elementary and Assumption schools managed to read their way to the top this year.
At School District 47’s Read for the Top 2015 competition, held recently at Evergreen Theatre, teams of three, from district elementary schools, met to compete in a reading event that rivals most sports events. The support given to the teams by their classmates was phenomenal, according to Frank Radcliffe, tournament organizer. “You might have thought the teams were competing for the Stanley Cup,” he said.
There are actually two competitions, one for grade six students and one for grade seven students. Students in each grade were asked to read 20 novels. Each grade level had its own novel list. The best three readers in each class were chosen to compete and their classmates attended with them to cheer them on. Teams competed by listening to clues and guessing the novels to which the clues correspond.
The game hosts and helpers this year were all students from Brooks Secondary School and past Read for the Top competitors: Clancy Sindlinger and Jeremy Hopper were hosts; adjudicators were Bailey Hollingsworth, Gemma Gordon, Chloe Elzer, Annika Krowitz, Cameron Devereaux, Tristan Turney and Katie Hopper.
“These Brooks students did an amazing job,” said Radcliffe. “They run the event. They read the clues, judge the contest, award the points, and present the awards at the end. They were incredible—the best we’ve ever had.”
This year’s Read for the Top winners were:
Grade six:
First: Assumption School team of Lok Wing Wong, Amy Ruegg, Brayden Brown and alternate Alison Ruegg.
Second: Edgehill Elementary School team of Ying Zhong, Ben Mayenburg, Ashley McDonald and alternate Emily Rolland.
Third: Westview Elementary School team of Maddie Burt, Ainsley Needham, Hanna Hobson and alternate Ava Wedel.
Grade seven:
First: Edgehill’s team of Mitchell Clements, Rylyn Christensen and Chloe Welde.
Second: James Thompson Elementary School team of Saskia Soprovich, John Harmer, Taylor Racy and alternate Torah Bailey.
Third: Westview’s team of Darian McCullough, Drew Deglan, Olivia Hopkins and alternate Pavan Narayan.
