Reading Olympics at St. Marguerite d'Youville
Once upon a time there was a school in Barrie that had a principal and teachers with a big idea, and students with boundless enthusiasm. That school was called St. Marguerite d’Youville Catholic School.
In February, students in Kindergarten to Grade 8 were challenged to up their reading game. The first ever St. Marguerite d’Youville Reading Olympics was launched. “More books!”, their principal Cheryle Reynolds exclaimed. “Every day!”, their teachers encouraged. And sure enough, students at St. Marguerite d’Youville proved they were up to the challenge.
Then on a sunny day in May (May 5th to be exact) students were rewarded for their reading efforts. Special guests were welcomed to the school for the closing ceremony of the Reading Olympics and each one read a hand-picked book to the students. Director of Education Frances Bagley, Superintendent of Student Achievement Christine Monteiro-Almeida, teacher Natasha Mantulak and former school office administrator Mrs. Karen Klein Gebbinck (AKA Mrs KG) all enjoyed reading their books to the students who listened in delight. Special guest and real-life author Ally Arena read her book “Olive the Worrying Wiener: A Short Tale about a Particularly Long Dog” (available on Amazon), signed copies of the book and donated them to the school’s event. Author Arena has just released a second follow-up book titled “Olive the Worrying Wiener and the Invasion of Pickle the Pup,'' which became necessary as her fur-family grew.
After story time, students gathered outside and received recognition for all of their reading and finished books. There were medals for the top three classrooms overall, as well as individual medals for the top three readers in each grade. All of the gold medal winners had their names put in a draw for prizes of books, gift certificates and even a Tablet! The air was full of excitement as
students cheered and celebrated with their friends and teachers. The first-ever Reading Olympics was a huge success. Throughout the six week challenge approximately 7,000 books were read!