Branch Elementary students soar past reading goal Published March 31, 2010 By Stephen K. Robinson 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Under overcast skies and a brisk, blustery breeze, more than 850 students and teachers of Edwards Branch School here gathered March 31 to recognize the reading accomplishments of seven students who read the most minutes during the month of March. "Today's gathering is a culminating event for the month of March's National Reading Month," said Kevin Cordes, Branch Elementary School principal. "We had a read-a-thon during the month and students were given a collective goal to read 320,000 minutes. They far exceeded that by reading a total of 430,000 minutes." Principal Cordes went on to elaborate that 430,000 minutes equates to one person reading 24-hours-a-day for 298 days. "That's a lot of reading, but more importantly is that our students exceeded expectations and goals. That's just outstanding for them and their families." One student said he enjoyed the event because he was able to read any book he chose. "We were not encouraged to read anything specific book. We were just encouraged to read what interested us," said the embarrassed sixth-grade student. "That's what made it so much fun and interesting -- reading what I wanted to read." Each year Read Across America honors Dr. Seuss for his contributions to literature and education as a whole. And while J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series holds the top-read books spot in the world, Theodor Seuss Geisel's 64-page book, "Cat in the Hat", ranks as the fourth top-read book in the U.S. "We kicked off the month-long read-a-thon with an author coming in to talk to the students about reading and writing," said Alexia Svejda, Parent-Teacher Organization president. "On the second day of 'Read Across America,' we had great support from base personnel who came in and read to the different classrooms." The top readers from each grade are: Antonio Isla, from Kindergarten; Taylor Cheney from the 1st Grade; Nadia Svejda from 2nd grade; Hannah Vitt from 3rd grade; Micah Andrus from 4th grade; Grace Johannesmeyer from 5th grade; and Niki White from the 6th grade. "Participation is not mandatory," Ms. Svejda said. "Yet there was about a 60 percent participation rate this year; up slightly over last year. There are students reading that would not otherwise do so, which I have to attribute that to prizes that are awarded, and the sponsors of those prizes such as Claim Jumper, Foster's Freeze, Pizza Hut, Crazy Otto's, Vince's Pizza, and more. So, hopefully those that did not participate this year will do so next year." This year's National Reading Month recognition, locally themed 'Take Flight for Reading', at Branch Elementary was the 2nd annual observance and was highlighted by a flyover of two F-16 Fighting Falcons. "That was the coolest thing," said the anonymous sixth-grade student.