Students reach million minutes reading goal

BY KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer

WOODBRIDGE - They made it.

The students of Lafayette Estates School No. 25 were up to the "Million Minute Reading" challenge that began last September and ended in mid-March.

The project began last fall when Principal Robert Zega approached PTO co-President Michelle Baird and PTO member Tish Coughlin to see if they could come up with ideas to encourage students to read more.

"The idea of reading 1 million minutes came from an article in PTO Today about a school that did something similar," said Baird. "With some modifications, we made a program of our own."

The challenge kicked off with a visit from Metuchen authors and illustrators Danny and Kim Adlerman last October.

"They showed the children how they wrote and illustrated their books and encouraged them to take the challenge," said Baird.

The students - kindergartners through fifth-graders - received calendars to log their minutes at home when they read or were read to. Teachers also recorded minutes when the students read in class.

"Each month, the logs were compiled by Dr. Robert Zega and the results were posted," said Baird, "A giant bookworm was created and hung in the main hallway. Each time the students read 10,000 minutes, the bookworm's body grew another section."

Throughout the challenge, students received gifts at various times to encourage them. Bookmarks, T-shirts and books were some of the gifts given to them from the PTO, said Baird.

"Scholastic Books donated 320 free books, one for each child completing the challenge."

The students celebrated their success with a carnival. Each child got the opportunity to dunk Principal Zega in a dunk tank.

"I am proud that we reached the million minutes," said third-grader Jennifer Carfagno.

The challenge of reading a million minutes was reached by mid-March.