The South Carolina Department of Education has announced the winners of the 2017 Read Your Way to the Big Game Contest - a reading competition that promotes literacy in schools through the Gamecock and Tiger athletic programs.
The start of college football season marked the beginning of the annual Read Your Way to the Big Game Contest. All pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade students who read six books qualified to win four tickets and sideline passes to the Clemson vs. South Carolina game at Williams Brice Stadium on November 25th. Two students winners, one reading for Clemson and one for South Carolina, were selected at random from over 50,000 entries. University mascots, Cocky and Tiger, joined education officials at school assemblies to surprise the two lucky student winners with news of their selection.
Hannah Boetsch, a sixth grade student at Kennedy Middle School in the Aiken County Public School District , was named the University of South Carolina Read Your Way to the Big Game Contest Winner!
Ty'kerian Walker, a fifth grade student at Pine Street Elementary in Spartanburg School District Seven, was named the Clemson University Read Your Way to the Big Game Contest Winner!
Hannah and Ty'kerian will join State Superintendent Molly Spearman on the field prior to Saturday's game for a special presentation. Both students also received signed letters from Clemson's Coach Dabo Swinney and South Carolina's Coach Will Muschamp.
In addition to the students - teachers, media specialists, and schools who participated were eligible for monetary prizes ranging from $500 to $2000 .
Schools with at least 70% student participation were entered to win $2,000school library grants.
This year's school winners each had nearly 100% student participation. Chester Park Center of Literacy Through Technology ($1000) and Chester Park School of Inquiry ($1000) in the Chester County School District and Dacusville Elementary School in the School District of Pickens County were selected as $2000 school library grant award winners!
Two teachers or media specialists who had the best decorated bulletin board, wall or door, using the contest as a theme were selected to win $500.
Michelle Spires of Gray Court-Owings School in Laurens School District 55 and Mary Grady of Savannah Grove Elementary School in Florence Public School District One are our Read Your Way to the Big Game Decoration Contest winners!
Five participating teachers were randomly selected to win $500 for their classroom.
This year's winners are:
- Hannah Costner, second grade, Sunset Park Center for Accelerated Studies in Rock Hill Schools
- Wendy Lockliear, second grade, McDonald Elementary in the Georgetown County School District
- Kim Copeland, fourth grade, Orange Grove Charter in Charleston County School District
- Meg Martin, third grade, Laurence Manning Academy
- Kara Stevens, fifth grade, Harbison West Elementary in District 5 of Lexington and Richland Counties
A child's ability to read is a critical predictor of educational and lifelong success. The South Carolina Department of Education encourages students to continue to read both in and outside the classroom. Parents can visitSCReads.org for strategies on helping their child become a stronger reader.
