After reading a total of 3,958? hours, or 237,510 minutes, during March is Reading Month, students at Oxford Elementary were able to raise a hefty $2,277.50 to help support Heiffer International in its mission to end world hunger.
Since 1944, Heifer International has has helped over 4.5 million families become self-reliant through gifts of livestock.
Through their program, called ‘Read to Feed,? students at OES were able to purchase nine flocks of chickens, two pigs, two sheep, one llama, 11 flocks of ducks and geese, two goats, two water buffalo, two trios of rabbits, three sets of tree seedlings and four sets of honeybee colonies.
Students at Daniel Axford Elementary used March is Reading Month to celebrate diversity by ‘Reading Around the World with Cinderella.?
They read a total of 102,610 minutes. Although they didn’t have a specific goal, principal Lydia Lopez Engel said numbers aren’t the true goal of the program.
‘Our goal, of course, is always to get kids to read more at home and at school,? she said.
DA teacher Darlene Harsant’s second grade class gets the award for reading the most minutes. They read a total of 13,227 and will get a special ice cream treat.
DA kicked off the reading month with a special concert from the Gemini Brothers, who performed various cultural songs from different countries.
To help with the theme of reading around the world, students also made their own Heritage Dolls at home to represent the country or countries of their ancestors. Thirty-eight countries were represented.
At the end of the month, the students got to attend a staff-written Cinderella-themed play featuring Prince DA (see the April 11, 2007 issue of The Leader for photos.)
In total, elementary students in Oxford read a total of 1,234,866.5 minutes throughout March.