At first glance, the pep assembly at Thayer Elementary on Monday could have been mistaken for a rally for a sporting event; athletes were introduced, cheerleaders led cheers and students showed spirited enthusiasm. The assembly, however, wasn’t about athletics; it was to celebrate and promote reading.
High school athletes shared their favorite books from elementary school and played “minute to win it” style games with the elementary students.
Twelve Thayer Elementary students, who earned the highest percentage of meeting their reading goal with the average percent of questions correct, were invited to run though a “Readers Are Leaders.” Their scores and names are as follows:
307 Anna Mostafa
280 Jacob Merkley
231 Melanie Chan
218 Leah Raithel
203 CJ Bennett
201 Dante Zhang
197 Campbell Dye
184 Aubriella Donahue
182 Teagan Herrin
173 Matthew Faubion
172 Louden Benson
171 Timothy Lott
The Waynesville High School athletes who assisted with the event included Josh Ash, Grant Kindred, Jared Hyatt, Maurice Fiame, Kansas Worson, Darien Grosvenor, Riley Wright, Truman Trower, Faith Johnson, Layla Watson and Courtney Hale.
Thayer teachers Bobbi McQueen, Dara Faubion and Candace Gilbert-Decker planned the assembly for the students.
