As a fun way to encourage students to read over spring break, sixth grade Fegely Middle School English teachers Mindy Malaski, Lisa Norman, and Jennifer Combs encouraged their students to curl up with a good book or two over break. The teachers wanted to encourage the students to keep reading during the week of spring break.
To reward the students for earning at least five AR (Accelerated Reader) points during spring break, Malaski, Norman, and Combs created a cupcake bar. Teachers baked chocolate and vanilla cupcakes and made chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry icing. The teachers also provided a variety of toppings—which included cherries, gummy bears, sprinkles, mini-chocolate chips, and Skittles. A combined 60 students earned this special treat. We were excited to have so many students participate! It seems that many students were regretful to have missed out on Cookies and Cocoa, a similar reward incentive that took place over winter break, in January. Many students exceeded this goal by earning even more points.
All sixth grade students within the PTS system are required to earn 20 points each grading period. If a sixth grade student is enrolled in the PreAP track, they will need to earn 25 points each quarter. This is the bare minimum requirement. Students are challenged to aim to read a book a week in their level or 36 or more books during their sixth grade year. The top students right now have earned over 550 AR points. This AR initiative is meant to make a habit of reading, and to keep our students curling up with good books for a lifetime.