Berkmar High, Head Elementary Crowned Winners in 2013 Gwinnett County Readers Rally

Berkmar High School and R.D. Head Elementary School beat out all of their competitors for first-place finishes in the 2013 Gwinnett County Readers Rally.

Berkmar High School, which has won first place before, won in the high school level. Archer High School won second place.

Head Elementary School competed against Suwanee's Parsons Elementary School for first place. This is the team's first win, but last year it was among the final four elementary schools.

(The middle school winner was Sweetwater Middle School, with Jones Middle School placing second.)

The championship round took place March 21, and it began airing on GCPS TV this week. It is airing on TV at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. until March 31. It also will be available on demand on the district's website. 

Patch caught up Shann Griffith, Head Elementary's team coach, to see what it was like participating -- and winning -- this year. See her emailed responses below.

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Patch: How long did the school prepare for the competition?

Griffith: Our students started reading the books for the 2013 competition as soon as the list came out in March. One of the main goals of the program is to get kids reading, and reading as much as possible. The books for 2013 were fantastic, so most of our 4th and 5th graders read them, even if they weren't on the team."

Patch: What was you reaction to the win?

Griffith: We were all so ecstatic.  When we got back to school, we went as a team to the team members classrooms, and the students were so happy and supportive. One of our team members noted that her class was at lunch, so we walked with the trophy through the cafeteria.  It was like a wave, as the students realized we had won. The students started clapping, screaming and cheering, and the entire 4th grade stood up on the cafeteria chairs, waving their arms and screaming. It was like a pep rally. I only wish I had their amazing reaction on film!

Patch: What do you most credit for the win?

Griffith: On the morning of the competition, I looked up at 8 a.m. and determined that all my team members were there.  I just got down on one knee and gave thanks for our blessings.  In turn, all the team members starting Tebowing. We were all healthy and ready to go.  Without blessings from above we all realized we would have nothing.  We are thankful for the ability to see, to read, to think, to deduct, to infer, and for the abundant blessing we have received that eventually led to the championship.

Patch: What is the overall message you try to instill in the students in the
process of preparing and competing?

Griffith: Galatians 6:7 tells us "A man reaps what he sows." Readers Rally is about persistence, resilience, hard work and determination. The more the students put in to anything they do in this life, the more they get out. Whatever they do, they should do it to the best of their ability.  If the result is first place or last place, it doesn't matter...as long as it was the best the student had to give.

Patch: Has the school won before?

Griffith: Last year was our first year, and we went to the final four.  We won our division (best of 8 teams) and went to the quarter finals.  We won the quarter finals and went to the semis. We lost in the first round of the semis to Gwin Oaks, the eventual 2012 winners. Our team had worked so hard, and we were so close.  But we came back the next year, and the persistence, resilience and positive attitude paid off.

Patch: Anything else you'd like to share?

The Readers Rally committee was fantastic. They chose 15 amazing books that the kids fell in love with.  In addition, they  managed to move hundreds of players, like clockwork, through the preliminaries at Berkmar High School. Their organization and planning was unparalleled, and our team is so thankful to them for giving us a memory we will never, ever forget.

This life is quite ephemeral, so the gathering of treasured memories like Readers Rally 2013 was a priceless gift. We are also grateful to GCPS-TV.  The semi-final and final rounds were played and recorded at the GCPS-TV studio. The kids told me it was like a dream come true...or as Mrs. Williams said in the book, Because of Mr. Terupt, it was "...magic, Mr. Terupt, magic."

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