Random Acts of Reading unveils Golden Ticket to Literacy program in Centre Hall

Feb 4, 2023

BREANNA HANLEY/THE EXPRESSCentre Hall Elementary students excitedly wait during the assembly which would unveil the mystery item in their school.

CENTRE HALL — Friday was a big day for Centre Hall Elementary School!

For ages the students have been waiting patiently for the unwrapping of the big mystery box in their cafeteria.

The kids were all incredibly pumped up for the mystery to be revealed, their morning announcements featuring different teachers guessing at what it could possibly be.

One teacher said a Burger King drive-through window, another an ice cream machine, a time machine, a dunking tank for the principal and even a portal to anywhere you can think of.

The big surprise? A book vending machine where students can use their School Wide Positive Behavior to get a book they can take home and keep forever!

BREANNA HANLEY/THE EXPRESSMisha Webb poses with his chosen book.

This vending machine was launched at the school as the newest program intended to excite kids about reading and writing through a local non-profit organization: Random Acts of Reading.

Random Acts of Reading (ROAR) has been supporting literacy and literary confidence through books and meet-the-author events since 2015. They aim to provide exciting and equitable access to quality diverse books, authors and opportunities as well as have students share their own writing and ideas through this innovative literacy program.

“The Golden Ticket to Literacy” is the title of this wonderful program starting in the Penns Valley School District.

The program would normally cost $11,000, including a district-owned vending machine, 300 books to fill the machine and a meet-the-author event for one of the books.

To kick off the program, however, Random Acts of Reading is lending Centre Hall Elementary a vending machine and donating enough books for every student in the school to receive one. The machine will stay for the remainder of the school year.

BREANNA HANLEY/THE EXPRESSFrom left, Penny Eifrig, Annelise Snyder, Kensley Praskovich and Nathan Houtz pose with their books in front of the vending machine.

The individual behind this organization is Penny Eifrig, in conjunction with the school’s Reading Specialist, Kathryn “Kathy” Smaniotto, and the school’s Special Education Teacher, Kelly Corneal.

“We’re really excited to get these books into the hands of students,” said Smaniotto. “A lot of the characters represent the lives of our students and our students can see themselves in a book. The books will also open up opportunities that they haven’t experienced yet.”

Using the school’s RAM Stars — part of the School Wide Positive Behavior Program — students can redeem those points for golden tokens. Some of the books even have incentive tickets for the students to use. Some of those prizes include using the principal’s chair for the day, receiving an ice cream treat, getting to sit at a special table with their friends for lunch, getting to wear a hat and other fun events!

The big prize, however, is hidden inside of one special book. The student who chooses this book will receive a golden ticket, and with that ticket the entire school gets a reward.

The student who finds the golden ticket will earn the entire school not only a meet-the-author event via Zoom where the author can talk to the students about their book, but they will also ensure that every student in the school gets a copy of the book too!.

BREANNA HANLEY/THE EXPRESSStudents chosen by Principal David Romanyshyn tear the paper away from the machine, revealing the books inside.

The machine was unveiled in two separate assemblies, with three students pre-selected to be the first students at the school to get a book from the machine. The first round were students from Pre-K to first grade.

From the first assembly, Misha Webb (1st grade) and William Weaver (Kindergarten) were chosen, as well as Diana Claros (absent).

The two students were super excited to be the first to receive a book, very carefully selecting their options. William insisted that Misha get to pick his book first, and Misha didn’t disappoint with his choice.

Misha picked a really colorful book about something he loves: dragons.

“My favorite dragon is the red one. I like the front cover and the back cover,” he said excitedly, talking about how much reading they do in the classroom with his teacher, Mrs. Smith, and Mrs. Smaniotto.

William picked a great book too — “Sam & Sadie Super Sleuths,” a detective book.

“They’re following each other’s footprints,” said William, excitedly tracing the footprints featured on the cover. William was also quick to recite the 3 R’s that he and the other students need to follow to get points: “You need to be ready, responsible and respectful.”

During the second assembly, Annelise Snyder (2nd grade), Nathan Houtz (3rd grade) and Kensley Praskovich (4th grade) were chosen to get a book from the machine.

Nathan Houtz found inside of his book a ticket for a “Stinky Feet” party for his class.

These students were all extremely excited to talk about their books and talk about how much they love reading.

“I like dogs so I thought this was cool,” said Kensley, showing off her book “Snout Vs. Snowman.”

“My favorite part about reading is that when I’m bored I can grab a book and it entertains me for a while,” said Nathan.

Annelise made her fellow classmates laugh as she said, “I like reading because it gives me something to do other than yell at my brothers.”

There are numerous other features included with this Golden Ticket to Literacy program Students will also have access to YACK! which is a Young Authors-Creative Kids writing contest and digital library.

Students will also have free access to Readeo.com “bookchatting” services for virtual meet-the-author events. Through this site parents/grandparents who want to help out by reading a book to the class can do it from wherever they are regardless of ability to join the class in person.

“My hope,” said Principal David Romanyshyn, “is that this kick off will generate excitement and interest in the community. I’m grateful that Penny reached out and said she was going to lend this to us and donate books.”

“I really want to thank my parents who believed in me. I was so close to making this come to life and I just needed funding. They provided enough funds to buy the roaming machine,” said Eifrig. The machine has a dedication to her parents on the side, “Generously sponsored by Ron & Sue Smith of Lemont, Pennsylvania.”

The machine will stay in the school for the remainder of the year before moving on to another school and giving them the opportunity to learn to love literacy and have the opportunity to experience this program.

Additional information about this program can be found at www.randomactsofreading.org.

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