Rush County Community Foundation Board President Keith Perin and Executive Director Alisa Winters had an adventurous afternoon at RES West, reading books on behalf of the Rush County Community Foundation for RES West’s Reading Safari!  Keith read the 1936 classic Snipp, Snap, and Snurr and the Red Shoes to 2nd graders.  Alisa read and gave fun facts from The Rainforest Grew All Around to RES West 4th and 6th graders.

RES West turned a nationwide all-day reading event into a true safari-themed literature journey.  The students’ day began with animal crackers and independent reading time.  Students were encouraged to read as many pages as possible and take Accelerated Reading tests. Throughout the day, 15 guest readers came to read to students at all grade levels.  The students were rewarded with safari cupcakes in the afternoon.

Staff members tally scores on the Safari display

As incentive, prizes were awarded to the top boy and top girl at each grade level based upon the most points earned (upper grades) or most books read (lower grades).   These boys and girls received special “Reading Safari” t-shirts for their accomplishments.  The top boy and top girl in each class received a trophy.  All students participating in Reading Safari received themed bookmarks and dog tags.  The students, teachers, and staff involved have much to be proud of:  overall, the school read more than 1,000 books today!!

Our grant from the Rush County Education Fund provided the funds for the incentive prizes, snacks, dog tags, and bookmarks for the fun day of reading.  Since the first grant awarded from the fund established in 1994, the Rush County Education Fund has provided more than $30,000 to encourage creative learning and development for our youth.

Donations made to “Thank A Teacher” and/or the Rush County Education Fund directly support educated-related grants and, for a limited time, are matched $0.50 per $1 donated!  Give back to your community, give our next generation exciting educational opportunities, and get more for your money with the matching opportunity. Contact our office to donate or for more details!