Sunnyside Intermediate School in Havre is turning reading into a competition by pitting fourth and fifth graders against 16 businesses to see who can stack up the most books.

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To celebrate Read Across America Week, both the students and the businesses will have 11 days to add books to their "tower", reading books at or above their reading level to ensure that they are challenging themselves.

The competition will begin on Monday February 24th with final numbers due on Thursday, March 6th.

“It worked out perfectly,” explained school librarian Jade Miller. “It's just kind of the perfect timing to celebrate reading. Not just in our schools, but in our communities as well.”

Back in November, the students participated in another reading challenge that added up the kids read words that they could put towards the Bobcat or Grizzly teams with the winning team flag being flown.

Mrs. Miller says that the challenge was so successful, that they wanted to do another one that not only celebrates reading but builds strong relationships within the community. “It’s the perfect opportunity to show these kids that reading is a life-long skill. I thought that adding in the businesses will add more competition and depth to the challenge.”

If the classes win, the business will host an ice-cream social for the students and if the businesses win, the classes will host "Reading Parties" where employees are invited into the classroom to read alongside the students, create bookmarks, and spend additional time promoting reading across the community.

Julea Robbins, an employee with one of the participating businesses, BearPaw Development Corp. says that as soon as the business caught word of the challenge, they instantly signed up. She explained, “I think it's super exciting. It's just nice to see the schools getting out into the community and participating. I think that at this age they don't necessarily know what all of the adults in their life do. And so, it kind of gets that connection.”

Community leaders are optimistic that the challenge will spark a renewed interest in reading and open the door for future projects and collaborations.

“Nothing hypes these kids up more than turning them against each other, but it's kind of true,”Mrs. Miller commented.” They love the competition part of it. They love that they have this incentive and something that they're working towards. And so, they are like, ready to roll. Super excited to compete against them.”