Pottstown Olympians Reading Between the Lines

Submitted Photos

Pottstown students participate in the annual Reading Olympics competition.

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by the Pottstown School District.

Teams of elementary and middle school students recently took part in the Annual Pottstown School District Reading Olympics Competition. 

Approximately 120 students formed teams of eight to10 students who participated in the 20th annual event. 

The Reading Olympics requires teams of students to read 45 books in preparation for the event. 

Each round of competition sees two opposing teams attempt to answer 20 questions given in rapid-fire fashion from the moderators. After a question is asked about a book, teams huddle to determine the correct answer. 

One point is awarded for each correct answer and Olympic ribbons are awarded for overall performance. District teams qualify to compete in the annual Montgomery County Intermediate Unit competition which annually attracts more than 500 teams and 7,000 participants. 

The Pottstown School District program is organized by Reading Specialist Karen Neitz. 

The goals of the Reading Olympics are to increase students' reading for enjoyment and promote reading skills that increase achievement and academic success. 

Preparation is everything.

"I am always so excited to see our youngsters actively engaged in reading. This event is an opportunity for students to experience teamwork and the satisfaction that comes from hard work," said Neitz. 

This is the 15th year that Diamond Credit Union has provided financial support for the program. 

"We are proud to partner with Diamond Credit Union to promote the skill and joy of reading, said John Armato, District Director of Community Relations.  "They are committed to being a contributing member of our community. Readers become leaders, and with Diamond's help they are building a foundation for success."

See Link to video of the event; https://diamondcu.org/blog/community-news/pottstown-school-district-reading-olympics/

Here are the results of the event and the students who participated:

Barth - Silver	Lincoln- Silver
Julilana Babylon	Shahed Aljashoubi
Dahlia Dowling	Autumn Fair
Felicia Fry	Cynthia Killian
Isabella Fuentes	Iyanna Johnson
Julian Giraud	Leyna Johnson
Kamryn King	Jaylen Lamarre
Bentley Norman	Joell Lamarre
Maliya Perez	Rahmere Jenkins
Griffin Rivera	Royer Rodriguez
Caydin Romain	Zacarias Rodriguez
Josiah Wallace	William Rose
	Marcus Williams
Franklin - Silver	Lucy Zuniga
Lillian Green
Bailey Galamba	Rupert- Bronze
Levi Jaycox	Nyanna Thompson
Cullen Waite	Mya Elgendy
Taniyah Cotton	Brianna Long
Damien Miller	Makyla Plummer
	Avaliyah Scurry
Middle School - Gold	Cassandra Smith
Mia Ramirez	Kenzie  Hannah
Donovan Williams	Meleena Bisram
Sehar Tariq	Ezra King
Omaria Millers	Bradley Saylor
Ava Alessi	Maliyah Aquidio
Erika Heller
Brighton Scott
Logan Cahill
Jeyohnna Gibson
Josh Holly
Cheyenne Flamer

Pottstown Middle School Reading Olympians Earn Green Ribbon in Competition at Pope John Paul II

The Pottstown Middle School Reading Olympics team won a Green Ribbon in district competition.

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by the Pottstown School District.

Congratulations to members of the Pottstown Middle School Reading Olympics Team who competed in the District event held at Pope John Paul II High School. 

The team, coached by Middle School Librarian Aliceclair Faust and assisted by scorekeeper Nicole Accor, earned 35 points on the evening resulting in a green ribbon.

Students had to answer questions from 45 books that they read. 

Students were proud to wear shirts supplied by Diamond Credit Union,a long-time supporter of the Pottstown team. 

Principal Brian Hosteler said "our students combined hard work with team work to gain success." 

Good things happening at Pottstown Middle School give us reason to say Proud to be from Pottstown. 

7th Grade

Moniyah Person
Imani Germany
Daishawnia Dean
Sanaa Watson

8th Grade

Alexis Watkins
Faith Nichols
Deanna Stefanavage
Cheyenne Lee
Beatriz Guardado
Mackenzie Moser
Yasmin Paez
Xzavier Francis-Williams

Forget S. Korea, Olympics Are Here in Pottstown

Pottstown readers discuss their team answer before providing it at the recent Reading Olympics competition at Pottstown Middle School.

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by the Pottstown School District
More than 100 elementary students in the Pottstown School District took part in the Olympics. 

Unlike the athletes representing the United States, they did not have to travel to South Korea. Their competition took place in the Pottstown Middle School Auditorium.

Students participated in the 18th annual Pottstown School District’s Reading Olympics Competition. 

Diamond Credit Union has devoted 13 years and more than $30,000 

to supporting the Reading Olympics Program in Pottstown Schools.

The Reading Olympics requires teams of students to read 45 books in preparation for the event. Each round of competition sees two opposing teams attempt to answer 20 questions given in rapid-fire fashion from the moderators.

After a question is asked about a book, teams huddle to determine the correct answer. One point is awarded for each correct answer and Olympic ribbons are awarded for overall performance.

The district teams qualify to compete in the annual Montgomery County Intermediate Unit competition which annually attracts over 500 teams and 7,000 participants.

The Pottstown School District program is organized by Reading Specialist Karen Neitz. The goals of the Reading Olympics are to increase students' reading for enjoyment and promote reading skills that increase achievement and academic success.

“I am always excited to see our youngsters actively engaged in reading. This event is an opportunity for students to experience teamwork and the satisfaction that comes from hard work,” said Neitz.

For the 13th consecutive year, the Pottstown School District’s Reading Olympics program has received financial support from the local Diamond Credit Union.


Branch Manager Andrea Sawchuk-Moyer said, “we are proud to partner with the Pottstown School District in their efforts to promote the skills of reading so that students may learn to read and then read to learn. It is extremely rewarding to see the glow in students’ eyes when they correctly answer one of the questions. As an organization, Diamond Credit Union is committed to being a contributing member to our community.”

John Armato, Director of Community Relations, noted, “Diamond Credit Union has been a longstanding partner of the Pottstown School District. Their financial support for the Reading Olympics Program throughout the years has totaled more than a $30,000 investment on their part in the development of educational opportunities for our students. Their programming for students also includes Diamond Credit Union representatives presenting financial literacy lessons to high school business classes. Diamond Credit Union’s continued support of the Pottstown School District is one of the reasons we say Proud to be from Pottstown.”

Ribbon award winning teams included:

Franklin Elementary Reading Rebels SILVER	Lincoln Elementary Reading Lions SILVER	Barth Elementary Reading Rockets BRONZE	Rupert Elementary Rocking Readers BRONZE
Olivia Ash Alivia Boyer Mairelys Concepcion Erika Heller Megan McGinn Justina Nhim Lindsay Quintero Brighton Scott Natalie Shope Emely Villegas Gemma Wise-Macchioni	Leah Blackwell Emily Careme Lily Garber Gaige Harsh Lauryn Kutsch Amelia Lepage Joey Levengood Nevaeh Peaco Carice Peart Jaylen Quarles Mason Sims Ethan Ung Donovan Williams	Ava Alessi Jahliyah Allen Aubrey Andrews-Watkins Ayanna Cox Janylah Etienne Savante Johnson Rachel Kauffman Kendyll King Isiah Perez Sajjadah Pew-Phillips Zaila Redden Rowan Stauffer Tymir Wallace Syncere Whitehurst	Andrew Alessi Patience Cole Hugo Costa Evan Egleston Wesam Elgendy Andrew Fulmer Arianna Gatlin Jayanna Hill Colin Plank Kanijah Turlington Cianne Wells Desiyah Wilson

Pottstown Middle School Maniacs GOLD	Pottstown Middle School Masterminds SILVER	Pottstown Middle School Reading Radicals SILVER
Madison Beard Olivia Chin Macyahna Dalton Lunna Davilla MaiJheda Ellison Taylor Maguire Fatima Mohamed-Eck Nyel Thompson Emma Tidball Aniyah Wells Jadon Wiszumerski	Zarreea Brown Daniela Castillo Aniyah Crump Shyloh Dugan Lili Freese Gabriella Horne Gianni Mahario Avallina Orfield Josh Sargent	Adam Alaoui Kaitlyn Alessi Layla Bearden Zhon Bell Peyton Benfield Tyler Broughton Emily Castillo Makenna Franey Daisy Hilbert Mehki Jenkins-Glover	Alyssa Pearson Najae Perez Katerine Reina Sophia Russo Angelica Shifflette Devon Smith Makayla Smith Austin Sundstrom Chloe Weiss Rosalee Wilson

JJA\PR\PSD Reading Olympics 3-8-18

Heroes, Supporters and Closed Doors

Photo by Evan Brandt

From left, Superintendent Jeff Sparagana, Michelle Evans

and School Board President Judy Zahora.

Monday night, the Pottstown School Board recognized an every-day hero; recognized the year-after-year help of a partner in education, and failed to recognize that just because you CAN hide something from the public, doesn't mean you have to.

I should say MOST of the board failed to recognize that.

Board member Ron Williams said while he recognizes that the executive session the board held Monday to discuss the fate of Edgewood school is probably not illegal, he still refuses to take part in it.

He refused, he said, because he believes the taxpayers who paid for that school and own that school and property, should have the opportunity and the right to have a say in what happens to that school and property now that it is no longer being used for that purpose.

We (at the Mercury) have some doubts about whether discussions of "should the property be sold, or 'mothballed' or a number of other options" are legally the subject of "executive sessions" which exclude the public.

We tried to put a stop to it at the meeting, noting that the state's Sunshine Law allows a closed-door "executive session" to discuss the "purchase" of real estate, but not the "sale of it," but School Board Solicitor Stephen  Kalis cooly replied that a 2008 court decision made Monday night's session legal.

As I have written here many times before, "legal" and "right" are not synonyms.

And so the initial discussions of "what should we do with Edgewood" went behind closed doors.

The board would like you to think, having excluded you from offering input, that your input will be valued once they have already framed the options, but apparently, they do not want you to hear what the options are

But be re-assured by School Board President Judyth Zahora's exhortation that "I have never suggested that we are anything but transparent."

And in that, I suspect we agree.

Their choice to exclude the public not because they should, but because they can, is entirely transparent. Once they have decided what's best, they'll allow you do agree.

This was a golden opportunity to put truth to that statement. For the board to say: "we have to make a decision. Before we get too far along, tell us what you think."

When we posted the story about the issue on our Facebook page, there were no shortage of opinions.

In fact, more than 115 opinions were posted there. But instead, the default position is: "we can discuss this behind closed doors, so we will. And then tell you how transparent we are."

And they wonder why no one wants to get involved....

Anyway, rant concluded.

Here are the Tweets from what was the very short "public" portion of a meeting by a public agency, about a public property, bought with public funds and whose final disposition will, quite obviously be decided with minimal, after-the-fact input from the public.

An Olympic Effort

Over 150 elementary students in the Pottstown School District took part in the Olympics but they did not have to travel all the way to Sochi to showcase their skills.

They stayed right here in Pottstown as they participated in the 14th annual Pottstown School District’s Reading Olympics Competition. 

The Reading Olympics requires teams of students to read 45 books in preparation for the event. 

Each round of competition sees two opposing teams attempt to answer 20 questions given in rapid-fire fashion from the moderators. After a question is asked about a book, teams huddle to determine the correct answer. 

One point is awarded for each correct answer and Olympic ribbons are awarded for overall performance. 

District teams qualify to compete in the annual Montgomery County Intermediate Unit competition which annually attracts over 500 teams and 7,000 participants. 

The Pottstown School District program is organized by Reading Specialist Karen Neitz. 

The goals of the Reading Olympics are to increase students' reading for enjoyment and promote reading skills that increase achievement and academic success. 

“I am always so excited to see our youngsters actively engage in reading. This event is an opportunity for students to experience teamwork and the satisfaction that comes from hard work,” explained Neitz.

For the ninth consecutive year the Pottstown School District’s Reading Olympics program has received financial support from the local Diamond Credit Union. 

John Foust, President of Diamond Credit Union, said, “We are proud to partner with the Pottstown School District in their efforts to promote the skill of reading so that students may learn to read so that they can read to learn. 

It is extremely rewarding to see the glow in students’ eyes when they correctly answer one of the questions. As an organization, Diamond Credit Union is committed to being a contributing member of our community.”

Ribbon award winning teams included:

Barth Page Masters – BRONZE	Barth Reading MVP - BRONZE	Franklin Bluebirds - BRONZE	Lincoln Lightning - BRONZE
Early Boyd-Brown Jenia Brown Michelle Castillo Joseph DeLeo Anthony DiPietro Mason Long Christinna Longenecker Mackenzie Moser Mylihng Ortiz Zavion Paschall Ma'Kea Regis Kaden Timbers Xzavier Francis Williams	Ashton Binder Jaylen Bryant Justyna Epright Eddie Higgins Makenzie Johnson Debra Laulu Jesus Linares Zachary Mitchell Tryniti Mott-Lewis Patrick O'Connor Grant Panfile Ivionna Reed Enam Robinson	Askew, Jamilah Brown, Tyonna Christman, Olivia Clyde, Shyeed Cocci, Joel Couch, Thomas Delgado, Janessa Eames, Liza Harper, Tyler Hill, Elias Mest, Kristen Ormston, Allison Pena, Jolyn Rabert, Austin Smith, Dakota Tinson, Braylon	Jonathan Calle Xochitl Cruz-Hernandez Madison Dunn Isabella Floyd Farid Gass Jailyn Hampton Isabella Harmon Maria Jimenez Angelina Ludy Jesseny Redrovan Abigail Rochlin Deanna Stefanavage Kayla Vitabile Sydney Wilerson Daniel Williams Jayniana Williams

Rupert Roaring Readers - BRONZE	Middle School Eagles - BRONZE	Middle School Falcons - BRONZE	Middle School Hawks - BRONZE
John Cranford Jack Engleman Emma Gain Amar Graves Beatriz Guardado Breckin Leh Hannah Monger Malachi Neely Kira Nihart Yasmin Paez Jaylin Reynolds Julia Scavello Amayah Scurry Scarlet Vallejo Melodie Velez	Naomi Parson Jaydin Douglass Elizabeth Brennan Eric Thornton Jacob Eames Xavier Agosto Kamrin Gatlin Julian Paskel Haile Clayton Keshana Brown Harmony Wood Nancy Deschamps-Ocampo	Destri Roye Zach Sands John Toussaint Kishan Patel Sebastian Buchanan Tajime Brown Beyonce Brown Kameryn Herpich Imani Brant Brian Cowie Kylee Pimentel Hannah Wilson	Gabby Reyes Xavier Cushman Samantha Deery Bobby Mitchell Cristine Martinez Jaleinda Thompson Talia Spruill Nate Lang Ciera Cwynar Anthony Russo Riley Mead Emily Weber