First graders enjoying their snow cones. Photo courtesy Goshen Local Schools.

First graders enjoying their snow cones. Photo courtesy Goshen Local Schools.

<p>Second grade showing their great smiles. Photo courtesy Goshen Local Schools.</p>

Second grade showing their great smiles. Photo courtesy Goshen Local Schools.

<p>That’s a lot of kindergarten summer readers. Photo courtesy Goshen Local Schools.</p>

That’s a lot of kindergarten summer readers. Photo courtesy Goshen Local Schools.

<p>Principal Chalee Stevens celebrating with some summer readers. Photo courtesy Goshen Local Schools.</p>

Principal Chalee Stevens celebrating with some summer readers. Photo courtesy Goshen Local Schools.

<p>Coach Stiles and Mr. Larson lent a hand for students to get snow cones. Photo courtesy Goshen Local Schools.</p>

Coach Stiles and Mr. Larson lent a hand for students to get snow cones. Photo courtesy Goshen Local Schools.

No one does a summer reading bash quite like Marr Cook Elementary. Literacy Coach, Danielle Stiles, encourages all students to read or listen to stories throughout summer break. Incoming kindergarten students are screened in April and May and information is shared with families then. In fact, the new kindergarten class exceeded all expectations and had 91 students who listened to at least 30 books over the summer, wow! Marr Cook also had 78 first-grade students who completed the summer reading challenge as well as 64 second-grade students. On August 30, all 233 students were treated to their very own snow cone from Kona Ice! Everyone also received a reading certificate along with a fun grab bag that contained a special Goshen Warriors bookmark, a reading pencil, a fun eraser, reading stickers, a fun googly eye hand puppet to read to, and a scratch-and-sniff bookmark. This was their biggest summer reading bash yet! The fun doesn’t stop there. Marr Cook encourages nightly reading throughout the entire school year. Students can earn quarterly movie rewards for meeting their reading goal and they can also earn a gold token for the book vending machine. Goshen families – don’t forget! You too will get to share the love of literacy with Marr Cook’s annual Literacy Night which will take place on March 6, 2025. Congratulations to all of the summer readers! Have the best school year yet.