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Read to Ride at Ibraham Elementary
To see a video of the presentations, go to YouTube.
For more pictures, go to Your Permanent Record.
By Kim Underwood
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools
MAY 21, 2021 – At Ibraham Elementary , reading brought not only pleasure and knowledge for some students, it also brought a brand-new bike.
And, as a bonus, those who received a bike were invited to ride it down the hall if they wanted.
Here’s the story:
Thinking that the possibility of winning a bike might encourage students to read even more, Principal Angie Choplin and other staff members started talking about organizing a Read to Ride book challenge.
Students in kindergarten through second grade who logged 100 minutes of reading would be eligible to have their name drawn to win a bike and students in grades three through five who logged 300 minutes of reading would be eligible to win a bike.
One bike per grade level.
Joe Little, who is the Behavior Modification Technician at Ibraham, belongs to Masonic Lodge 563 in Madison. He talked with fellow lodge members, and they offered to help pay for the bikes.
They saw it as a way to motivate students, Little said.
Several individuals also contributed, including Darle and Joy Walls, Dr. Birdie Rush, and Mr. and Mrs. Willie Gray.
Media Coordinator Deborah Hinshelwood helped the students keep track of their minutes, and she posted names of participants on a bulletin board in the hall outside the media center.
In addition to nurturing their love of reading, Hinshelwood said, she hoped the project encouraged them to explore different genres.
The people at Ibraham are so grateful to the Masonic Lodge and the individual who contributed, Hinshelwood said.
Thursday May 20 was the big day. Winning students had no idea they won. They would find out when the “Prize Patrol” arrived.
As it happened, Choplin and Hinshelwood had to be out of the building at the time. But there were plenty of others eager to participate. With Assistant Principal Dr. Dara Hedgecock in the lead, a group that included Little and School Counselor Lanessa McCloud formed.
It was a great project, McCloud said. “My hope is they develop a passion for reading.”
Paraphrasing Dr. Seuss, she added, “The more you read, the more you know. The more you know, the farther you will go.”
Joining staff memberswere some people based outside the school – including Abi Woodson and Kathy Wilheit, who are both Instructional Coaches for Elementary English Language Arts.
Even with all of the challenges this school year has brought, Woodson said, there is still much to celebrate.
“And student success should be at the forefront of that,” Woodson said.
Shannon Spencer, the Instructional Technology Facilitator (ITF) followed along with a camera so that everyone throughout the building could enjoy it all as it happened.
“It’s an exciting way to celebrate reading,” Spencer said.
By the time the adventure was over, the Prize Patrol had delivered bikes to:
Marceline Privado-Zarate, Kindergarten
Marcos Melendez-Gutierrez, First grade
Audrey Wade, second grade
Mia Jorge-Ramirez, third grade
Sarah Moncallo-Navas, fourth grade
Anastacia Lenczewski, fifth grade
Kayla Isbell's class first-grade class also got a certificate for the class having the most participation in Read to Ride.
Speaking of Marcos and the class, Isbell said:
“Marcos is one of the sweetest kids you will ever have the pleasure of meeting. He is extremely shy, but once he comes out of his shell, he is a hoot.”
“Marcos is an avid reader. He even had a book opened on his desk when the Prize Patrol came in to award him the bike. I think Marcos was in complete shock that he won. He had just mentioned earlier that he needed a new bike, so this was perfect!”
“Ms. Isbell's class is full of brilliant and loving students. They work hard and love to read, so they were extremely excited to hear about Read to Ride. Some of the students read well over 100 minutes during the challenge.”
“I couldn't be prouder of my class and their hard work. In a year full of so many challenges, they have faced them head on and have succeeded and grown in ways I could've never imagined!”
Lauren Ball is Mia’s teacher.
“Mia is a hard worker who has shown so much growth during this challenging year.” Ball said. “She comes to school each day with a smile on her face and ready to work.”
“I am very proud to be her teacher this year.”
Tina Gwyn is Marceline’s teacher.
“Marceline is an awesome student who always works hard,” Gwyn said.
“She has shown outstanding growth this year in her reading skills. She was excited about the Read to Ride challenge from the first moment that she heard about it, and she continued to turn in her reading minutes even after the challenge was officially over.”
“I am so proud of her!”
Hedgecock said:
“We are so proud of all our students who participated in Read to Ride!”
“Over the last few months, students have been reading and documenting their minutes of reading. As a school, our students have read over 16,000 total minutes! Way to go Eagles! “
“Our students have worked so hard to get their reading minutes so they could have the opportunity to win a bike.”
“We want to acknowledge and send a big thank you to Ms. Hinshelwood our Media Coordinator for putting this opportunity together and helping students to document their minutes.”
“We also want to give a big thank you and shout out to Dr. Little and Masonic Lodge 563 for donating the bikes and all their support of our students and school.
“And a big thank you for the district staff who came out to be a part of our Bike Prize Patrol! Our students loved having them come to their classrooms.”