Evergreen Gets Some Pep for Prep for the PSSAs

students celebrated their love for reading with a festive parade and spirited pep rally on March 2, which was also the birth date of beloved children’s author Dr. Seuss and the National Education Association’s annual celebration of “Read Across America.”

During Evergreen’s celebration, students in grades K-2 began the fun with a parade through the school’s upstairs hallways, passing by third-, fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms. The children carried links, each of which featured the name of a book the child has read, and wore necklaces or paper crowns that displayed the titles of their favorite books.

Once the students made their way into the cafeteria for the pep rally, the links were hung up around the room to show just how many books they have read. Teachers estimated that the total amount of links was about 15,000. marching band and cheerleaders kept spirits up as children arrived and led the students in cheers about reading. Every student in the room also received a book, courtesy of Evergreen Elementary’s Home and School Association. The event closed out with students performing a twist on the Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling” that was called “Gotta Keep Reading.”

In addition to celebrating reading, the pep rally was meant to support third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students who will be taking the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, or PSSA, tests later on in March. Students were encouraged to prepare and perform well on the tests, which are used to determine student progress toward national and state benchmarks in the areas of reading, writing and math.