Last year, Schuylkill Valley Elementary School students placed second in the 2014 Literacy Council of Berks County Read-A-Thon. This year the students were given the challenge to reach number one.
“I don’t want to be number two, I want to be number one,” a teacher recalled Schuylkill Valley Elementary School principal Melissa Kelchner saying as they began to discuss this year’s Read-A-Thon.
To show just how much Kelchner wanted her students to be number one, she said “I’m willing to take a pie in the face for this.”
It was time for Kelchner to stick to her word at the February Panther Pride assembly at the elementary school on Friday, Feb. 27.
Schuylkill Valley Elementary School students raised a total of $9,432.50 in donations toward stamping out illiteracy in Berks County to become the winners in the 2015 Literacy Council of Berks County Read-A-Thon. The top three schools in order were: Schuylkill Valley, Conrad Weiser East and Owatin Creek.
“Do you know what else sounds like fun?” asked one of the students during the assembly. “Throwing a pie in the face of your principal.”
It was not only Kelchner putting on the protective gear before going to stand behind a snowman cut out in preparation for the students’ reward, but also assistant principal Melissa Rhoads. There was also not one pie to the face, but rather three students from each grade throwing plates full of whipped cream at the principals.
A total of 30 students raised more than $100 and were recognized during the assembly. For every $10 raised, a student earned a panther pie coupon that was put into the drawing to see which students would get the honor of pieing their principals in the face.
When asked if they were ready, the students let out a very loud “Yes!”
After the students had their chance, select teachers also got to step up and take a chance at pieing either Kelchner or Rhoads.
“I do want to tell you how proud I am of you Schuylkill Valley,” said Kelchner, as she wiped whipped cream off of her face. “We really raised a lot of money to help people read. There are a lot of grown-ups that don’t know how to read and we raised a lot of money to help them. So I’m very proud of you being number one in the county.”
In addition to this reward, the students will be visited by some of the Reading Fightin’ Phils players during an assembly in May and the school will be presented a first place plaque from the Literacy Council of Berks County. Schuylkill Valley Elementary School is also receiving $943.25 in free books.
The week of March 2, the students celebrated Read Across America with many events including a Family Reading Night with the theme “Reading Under the Stars.” Be sure to check out next week’s issue for coverage of that event.
