Central Elementary School in Waynesville recently celebrated the success of student reading goals at the culmination of their Reading Olympics with a closing ceremony for Dr. Seuss’s birthday.  Students received Reading Awards, Spirit Awards, and Dr. Seuss Dress-Up Awards.  The Waynesville Middle School cheerleaders came to help students cheer on their peers, and Mrs. Nickol (Title 1 Teacher) read a special Dr. Seuss book to the entire school. The 2014 CES Battle of the Books Team was recognized as Reader Leaders at the school. Special Guest Grady Wiley played the drums and guided students to create rhythms to encourage them for doing such an amazing job reading. Principal Wendy Rogers used the occasion to challenge students to let this be just the beginning of their reading endeavors and to keep up their reading momentum.

The CES Battle of the Books Team members that were recognized as Reader Leaders with a medal and BOB t-shirt include Emily Chenh, Andrew Delbene,  Karaline Griffin, Lily Howell, Kat Moore, Levi Smith, Jennifer Tolama, and Sage Weaver.

Best Dr. Seuss characters, selected in their classrooms, were as follows:  Kaleb and Christopher Neal (Swanger), Gabriel Dial (Pace), Mackenzie Henderson (Rhinehart), Zackary Hess (Patterson), Sailym Bailey (Spurrier), Phoenix Fletcher (Noland), Malaysia Boyer (Ashe), Madi Hord (Fox), Sarah Super (Fryar), Kaley Patterson (Pitts), Ashley Diaz (Pressel), Gavin Henderson (Chell), Chandler Ashe (Easterling), Michelle Boyer (Ryan), Brian Tweed (Clontz), and Ashley Stinnette (Bailey).

Each grade level classroom at the school constituted a “village” and competed with others in their grade and division for the most number of minutes read collectively.  Gold, silver, and bronze medals were awarded to classes.  In addition, the student in each class with the Most Minutes Read and Best Olympic Spirit during the competition were recognized with medals.  Teachers and classes stepped up onto the medal platforms to be encouraged with a round of applause and receive their awards.

Pre-K/Kindergarten winners were as follows:  Gold medal- Rhinehart’s Village; Silver medal- Pace’s Village; Bronze medal- Swanger’s Village and Patterson’s Village. Most Minutes winners were Nicholas Spencer (Swanter), Caleb Coffman (Patterson), Levi Branch (Pace), and Aidan Keener (Rhinehart).  Olympic Spirit Awards went to Katie Castater (Swanger), Bryanna Frazier (Patterson), Eva Shapiro (Pace), and Brookelyn Schneider (Rhinehart).

First grade winners were as follows:  Gold medal-Noland’s Village; Silver medal- Spurrier’s Village. Most Minutes winners were Alyssa Yarborough (Spurrier) and Ava Quigley (Noland). Olympic Spirit Awards went to Hunter Jones (Spurrier) and David Crawford (Noland).

Second grade winners were as follows:  Gold medal- Fryar’s Village; Silver medal- Ashe’s Village; Bronze medal- Fox’s Village.  Most Minutes winners were Hudson Blackburn (Fox), River Mack (Ashe), and Madison Brady (Fryar).  Olympic Spirit Awards went to Skylar Aldridge (Fox), Diego Martinez (Ashe), and Aiyana Bryant (Fryar).

Third grade winners were as follows:  Gold medal- Pitts’ Village; Silver medal- Pressel’s Village; Bronze medal- Chell’s Village.  Most Minutes winners were Gavin Henderson (Chell), Everett Mahan (Pressel), and Grace Nickol (Pitts).  Olympic Spirit Awards went to Jett Benson (Chell), Kevin Kyle (Pressel), and Jenna Laesser (Pitts).

Fourth grade winners were as follows:  Gold medal- Ryan’s Village; Silver medal- Easterling’s Village.  Most Minutes winners were Andrew Delbene (Easterling) and Carson Suriano (Ryan).  Olympic Spirit Awards went to Shelby Conner (Easterling) and Elmer Pantaleon (Ryan).

Fifth grade winners were as follows:  Gold medal- Clontz’s Village; Silver medal- Bailey’s Village.  Most Minutes winners were Mitchell Ensley (Bailey) and Arianna Maldonado (Clontz).  Olympic Spirit Awards  went to Destiny Douville (Bailey) and Maria Luna (Clontz).

The school was also divided into three divisions for a special trip to the “Olympic Café” in the Media Center.  The Pre-K/K/1^st grade winner was Noland’s Village; the 2^nd/3^rd grade winner was Pitts’ Village; the 4^th/5^th grade winner was Clontz’s Village.   These classes will get to hear a special book read while they enjoy treats in the “Olympic Café” very soon! The CES Faculty is very proud of the students.  Over the month-long initiative, students read a total of 80,379 minutes!