Reading Rally 2024

Reading Rally is an opportunity for our students to develop incredible reading habits and, at the same time, to raise funds to build classroom libraries. Students invite family and friends to support them through sponsorship.

To expand students’ interests, we encourage students to explore both fiction and non-fiction books, particularly about cultures that are not their own.

Each Wilberforce student is encouraged to secure a sponsor(s) who pledges a one-time donation to match the student’s pledge to meet a reading goal. With or without a sponsor, students read, read, read!

Students may challenge themselves to meet these goals:

Class Weekly Goal Total Goal

• Explorers 1 240 min. per week (6 days at 40 min. per day) 960 min.

• Explorers 2 270 min. per week (6 days at 45 min. per day) 1,080 min.

• Classes 1-2 300 min. per week (6 days at 50 min. per day) 1,200 min.

• Classes 3-5 360 min. per week (6 days at 60 min. per day) 1,440 min.

Students should not read more than 4 hours/weekday and 6 hours/weekend day. We do not want students lsoing sleep trying to accrue reading minutes.

Share the Sponsorship Form with anyone you think would be interested in supporting our school. Adding a personal note or email from your student would give it a special touch. Instructions on how to submit sponsorship money are found on the form. Donations are appreciated by Thursday, March 28.

Yes! First and foremost, we hope that the Rally motivates students to read. Class goals and competition across classes lend to the excitement that every student feels a part of. Although the reading goals are not required, and certainly are not counted as homework, we hope that every student will enthusiastically participate.

As a fun homage to all the interesting characters they have encountered in their month of reading, Lower School students are invited to come to school dressed as book characters on this day. Please, no weapons or costume masks. Teachers join the fun as well!

Students/parents record their minutes in weekly reading logs, which the teacher provides. The teacher collects these logs each Monday and calculates the average minutes read by the class. By comparing class averages week by week, students engage in friendly competition.

• Student reading to self (aloud or silently)
• Parent (or older sibling, another adult) reading to a student (of any class)

For Lower Grammar (E1-2/C1-C2) students only:

• Minutes are doubled when the student reads aloud to a parent (e.g., 5 minutes read aloud to Mom becomes 10 minutes)
• Listening to audiobooks – maximum 60 minutes/day
• Teacher-assigned literature as part of homework
• Daily Bible reading (by student or with family)
• Reading books written in English (sorry, no foreign languages)

* Time spent reading music (i.e., instrument practice) does not count as reading minutes.

All Reading Rally reading must occur during out-of-class times.

• Any age-appropriate book in the MPR library or in your child’s classroom library.
• Any age-appropriate book listed in The Classical Reader (classicalreader.com), published by Classical Academic Press.
• Ambleside Schools International Reading List
• Any parent-approved book. If you are unsure about a title, ask the classroom teacher.

We advise that students avoid “reading ahead” books from a higher grade’s curriculum to save that experience for when they enter those grades.

• At the end of the Rally, each student participant will receive a certificate.
• Students who have met their reading goals will receive certificates indicating this achievement.
• One Lower Grammar (E1-2/C1-C2) class and one Upper Grammar (C3-5) class that have the highest average total reading minutes per student will be awarded celebrations.
• Wilberforce has grown and expanded! Reading Rally sponsorship money will go toward stocking new Lower School classroom libraries with worthy books.

Reading Rally ends on Thursday, February 29 (9pm).