Large crowds participate in math, literacy events

RUSSELLVILLE – Large crowds turned out to participate in the annual math and literacy events held March 13 at Russellville Elementary and West Elementary.

“I think this year’s literacy and math night was a success,” said Melissa Greenhill, ARI Literacy specialist at RES. “We wanted to make sure learning was fun by incorporating games, challenges and hands-on activities. It was great to see so many families participating and to see students excited about the event.”

CONTRIBUTED/TIFFANY WARHURST – Princess Darby, Jaylene Sop, Precious Darby take part in the activities at Russellville Elementary.

Greenhill said the school has received a lot of positive feedback about the two schools coming together to plan the event on the same evening.

“I feel like this collaboration made the night even more impactful,” she said. “I’m already looking forward to next year’s event and how we can continue to make it even better.”

CONTRIBUTED/TIFFANY WARHUREST – Aubrey Warhurst takes part in the activities at Russellville Elementary.

CONTRIBUTED/TIFFANY WARHURST – Jack Bendall and James Bendall attend the book fair at Russellville Elementary with their grandmother, Dr. Natalie Bendall.

Challice Langston, local reading specialist at West Elementary, said it was encouraging to see so many families come together to support math and literacy night.

“This event fostered a love for reading and math, but it also strengthened the connection between our schools and the community,” she said.

CONTRIBUTED/TIFFANY WARHURST – Literacy/Math night at RES: Adley Odom and Kerby Grissom.

CONTRIBUTED/TIFFANY WARHURST –

CONTRIBUTED/TIFFANY WARHURST – Britain Smith attends the book fair at Russellville Elementary.

RES had a book fair, and West Elementary had stations for the children to rotate through, some of which provided the option of choosing to get a book to take home.

“In celebration of Dr. Seuss’s birthday, we try to have this event during the week of his birthday,” Langston continued. “That’s always an exciting week and a fun week for the students, so it’s an extension of that.”

West Elementary Principal Alicia Stanford said the event is always special and very successful event.

“It’s a great way for us to connect with our community and with our parents and students so that we’re able to showcase what our teachers are doing in their classrooms, so parents are able to be connected with what their children are learning,” she said.

Stanford estimated around 100 people showed up at RES, including parents, students and siblings.

“We had an estimation station for one activity,” she added, noting in addition to math and reading activities, local author and RHS graduate Madeline Cooper attended to sell copies of her book and meet students.

“We had a walk to read where students walked through a story by going through different stations,” Stanford said. “There was a station where kids could compete against other kids.”

RES Principal Tiffany Warhurst said the event had “a good turnout.”

“We had several different stations,” Warhurst continued. “The students entered into a drawing to win several door prizes, and they got a little card and rotated to different stations. We had a storybook walk, prizes, book bingo, fraction basketball, an interactive multiplication competition and our interactive playground.”

Warhurst said there was also a STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math) station showcasing the school’s robotics team. Other activities included bookmark decorating, a Legos challenge, rounding basketball, a photo booth, book fair and other activities.

“Based on our numbers, it went really well,” Warhurst said. “A lot of the families were very thankful and told us they had enjoyed their time and had a great night.”

Langston said the schools are “blessed” to have teachers, staff and volunteers to help make the event a success.

“We appreciate the parents who took the time from their busy schedules to engage with their children in math and reading,” she added. “We look forward to continuing to work together with the parents and the rest of the community to support our children.