PHOTO PROVIDED Members of the Fall Reading Competition Team.

On Thursday, Nov. 17, the Central Mountain Middle School students competed among 20 teams at the Interscholastic Reading Competition at Bellwood-Antis. The competition took place at 4 p.m, which means students left school early to travel to the competition and arrived back at the school around 8 p.m. It was a long day for the kids (and adult volunteers), but it was a day of enjoyment for everyone involved!

This fall, CMMS had one team of 13 students who participated in the competition. The Escapees From Mrs. O’s Library came in second place with a total of 43 points earned overall.

In order to compete, students read books independently from a list of 30 books selected by the reading competition committee. This year, one of our students, Sophia Corrales, read and mastered 27 of the 30 books on the list! Congratulations, Sophia!

To prepare for the competition, students met with their coach, Mrs. Onuskanich, every Monday during WIN to work together as a team and answer questions about the books they read. They ensured that at least three people had read each book and comprehended it well.

The captains leading the team in each round of the competition included Cameron Rhine, Mallory Wunder, and Emma Wolfe. As captains, they had to collect answers from their teammates within the 20 second time frame and then share the team’s answer with the moderator (the person asking the questions). It is intense, but our captains lead the team to victory in each round!

For the first round, our Escapees went up against the Red Devil Readers from Central Cambria Middle School, winning 16-8. For the second round, they challenged the Bearcats from St. Benedict Parochial School, winning 14-13. In the third and final round, the Escapees won 13-11 against the Starback Readers from North Star Middle School.

Cameron Hull states, “The reading competition is something I look forward to doing every year. The experience is amazing and I love making new friends who enjoy reading as much as I do. Our team bonded very well this year and we worked really hard as a team to get 2nd place. Meeting with Mrs. O every Monday was the highlight of my week. I can’t wait until the spring competition!”

We would like to thank Mrs. Huling and Mrs. Reeder for volunteering their time this year as moderator and scorekeeper for the competition. Each team has to provide at least two volunteers for the competition, so we’re very happy they were able to join us!

Mrs. O will recognize all students with a pizza party in December to celebrate their success and start preparing for the spring competition. “Seeing kids excited about reading is one of the most rewarding parts of coaching. It is an honor to work with such motivated students! This year’s team worked together, supported each other, and showed all of the teams and volunteers the utmost kindness and respect. I am so proud of them all and I’m looking forward to coaching them again in the spring when we travel to Forest Hills!”