Thirty-three EXCEL second-graders were celebrated Tuesday at the Oak Grove Lower Elementary School cafeteria as published authors with the completion of their bound books.
For the first time in the program’s history, the students will have actual published hard copies of their books. At Tuesday night’s celebration, they received certificates of achievement from teacher Nadine Amaya and signed autographs for relatives and friends.
Amaya, who is also the robotics team coach, said the event was a special occasion.
“This was the first time that the children had bound copies of their books,” she said. “We usually have copies. And it’s the first time we have had a Write-A-Thon to raise money. That money was used to get each student their book, the decorations and the food for tonight and still had some left over for the robotics teams.”
Five Oak Grove Lower Elementary School robotics teams will be going to the VEX National Championships from April 29-May 1 in Louisville, Kentucky. Three teams from Oak Grove Upper Elementary School will also be going, giving Oak Grove eight of Mississippi’s 11 teams in the competition.
“Six years ago when I started working with second-graders, we incorporated a little geography, research and writing about the community,” Amaya said. “They had to have at least two important facts in their books. It was awesome; they did great.”
Amaya said the students’ books were focused on what makes Hattiesburg such a unique place to live. At the celebration, students greeted guests and talked about their books, answered questions and presented the “50 States that Rhyme Song.” Certificates and awards were presented, and cake and punch were served.
Brayden Leslie received the Students’ Choice Award for his book, “Robot Isaac, Where are You Going?” Also receiving top awards for their books were Faith Guy, Lily Kate Tucker and Emily Ward.
