Parent Teacher Magazine Union County Public Schools - May/June 2019 | Page 5

Marshville Elementary wins the Books and Brackets championship
Chloe Moore, Jordan
Patrick, Andrew Wagner
and Ava Baucom have
never met each other.
But the third graders
-- who attend Stallings,
Kensington, Wesley
Chapel and Marshville
elementary schools,
respectively – have all
been laser-focused on
one goal for the past
five weeks: winning
the 2019 Books and
Brackets Championship.
During the annual
Books and Brackets
reading challenge,
which is patterned after
the March Madness
basketball competition,
students in third
through fifth grade at
all 30 UCPS elementary
schools spent their
days and nights immersed in books as the
playing field narrowed each week to the
Sweet 16, Elite Eight and Final Four.
UCPS students read more than 16
million minutes in this year’s reading
challenge, which translates to more than
266,667 hours’ worth of reading.
“This is the most I’ve ever read before,”
Chloe said, after Stallings Elementary
made it to the Final Four. “I feel like I’ve
read more than 1,000 or more than 2,000
minutes. I didn’t even know that I could
read that much but it’s been a lot of fun.”
With each passing week, UCPS
elementary schools found more and more
creative ways to encourage students to
read and log their minutes in the challenge.
With incentives that ranged from glow stick
reading parties to pep rallies, it wasn’t
uncommon to find students sneaking in
extra reading minutes any time they could.
“We’ve been reading a lot, on the way
to the bathroom, at pep rallies in the gym
and during lunch,” Jordan said. “I think
my favorite activities have been reading
outside in the courtyard during lunch and
doing the read-ins in the gym. It was really
fun reading with all of my friends.”
Schools that advanced to the Elite
Eight also had the opportunity to attend an
April 5 celebration at Wingate University,
where they danced, cheered and showed
their school pride. With Charlotte Hornets
announcer Fly Ty as the emcee, the fun-
filled celebration was packed full of exciting
activities, speakers and performances for
the students.
“We are thrilled to partner with UCPS.
This was a creative and innovative way
to get kids excited about reading. United
Way tries to make the community a better
place to work and live, and it starts with
education,” said United Way of Central
Carolinas Richard Heins. “It really is an
honor and pleasure to partner with the
school system to achieve the results that
are needed in our community.”
Representatives from MyON were
also on hand to present iPads to Stallings
students Peyton Smith and Alexandra
Uporova from Stallings Elementary as well
as hunter Mills from Marshville Elementary.
The three readers collectively read more
than 5,000 minutes on MyOn.
“I was really excited
when I found out Wesley
Chapel made it to the
Elite Eight and then
the Final Four. I really
wanted to go to Wingate
University this whole
time because I knew it’d
be really fun,” Andrew
said.
Books and Brackets
Winner Finally, amid
the screams of 700+
third graders during the
celebration, Marshville
Elementary was named
the winner of the 2019
Books and Brackets
reading challenge.
Marshville Elementary
Principal Janna Licata
was presented with a
$5,000 check for literacy
initiatives and programs
at her school.
Kensington Elementary Principal
Dr. Rachel Clarke, Stallings Elementary
Principal Laura Gaddy and Wesley Chapel
Elementary Principal Dr. Mike Henderson,
whose schools reached the Final Four level
of the competition, each received $1,000
for literacy initiatives and programs.
“In the Books and Brackets challenge,
we try really hard to focus on helping and
encouraging students to find books that
they enjoy reading and to not just focus
solely on logging minutes,” Licata said. “If
you know you’ve made a difference in a
child and their future to move them toward
a desire for learning and reading, that is
what this work is truly about.”
At the beginning of the challenge, Ava
knew her school faced tough competition
and wasn’t entirely sure they’d win this
year. But as each week passed -- and as
Marshville Elementary joined other schools
in the Sweet 16, Elite Eight and Final Four
-- she began to grow more hopeful. Now,
after finding out her school won the Books
and Brackets championship, Ava said she’s
excited to see that all of their hard work
has paid off.
After watching the Wingate University
celebration from her Marshville Elementary
fifth grade class, Shirley Urgell-Sanchez
said she and her peers were also extremely
excited to find out their school won the
championship.
Parent Teacher Magazine • May/June 2019 • 3