Students at Pearl River Central Upper Elementary participated in a reading fair last week, and the school hosted an awards ceremony on Thursday for parents and faculty to recognize the winners.

Dr. Diana Sweigart, Principal of PRCUE, said that participation in the contest was encouraging.

“Almost 300 students entered in the reading fair,” said Sweigart. The gymnasium floor at PRCUE was covered with posterboards featuring fiction and non-fiction projects from third, fourth and fifth grade students. While every student in the school was required to complete a book project, entering in the contest was optional. Sweigart and her staff spent time in every classroom in the weeks leading up to the reading fair to offer assistance to the students. She said the fact that nearly half of the school submitted an entry was a good indication of the reading fair’s success.

“A successful reading fair is one where the students enjoy reading and display enthusiasm for their projects,” said Sweigart, who added that the students showed enthusiasm throughout the fair.

A group of volunteers spent two days judging the projects on a 200-point rubric, separating the winners by category. Many students received perfect scores, so the judges had a difficult task in selecting first-place projects.

PRCUE student Lilly Fletcher won first place in the third grade fiction individual category, and Brayson Kirby placed first in the individual category for fourth and fifth graders. Beaux and Danyon Bellais won the group and family category for all grades, while Andrew Lee won the non-fiction category for all grades. All of the winners will attend the regional reading fair competition in Hattiesburg on Mar. 5.