Competition seeks Belize City?s best reader

Over the last year we’ve brought viewers the high drama of the annual Spelling Bee, the full menu of the Nutrition Quiz and most recently the crunching numbers of the Math Olympiad. Today News Five’s Kendra Griffith had a front row seat for the latest academic incentive.

Lusiola Castillo, Librarian
?Reading is very important and I think it is something that we do not appreciate as much as we should.?

Kendra Griffith, Reporting
In an effort to increase appreciation for the art of reading, today the National Library Service launched its Story Reading Contest 2006.

Lusiola Castillo
?The reading competition is supposed to be able to promote reading to children, especially as we believe that once you get the child interested in reading, well then they will find that books are very interesting and they can learn through reading. Category one is for children from standard one to standard three and category two is from standard four to standard six. We have four zones, which is northside one and two and southside one and two.?

This morning?s competition featured level one students from four northside schools.

Harry Zelaya, Ephesus 7th Day Adventist
?Let me rest a little says George, tomorrow you can show me where the dragon lives and I shall fight the monster.?

Segunie Allen, Ebenezer Primary
?The lion and the mouse. Once upon a time a lion lay down to rest underneath a big oak tree. He soon fell asleep but woke with a jump as he felt something running over his back. It was a little mouse.?

Andrea Avaloy, Central Christian Assembly
?I do not eat cauliflower or cabbage or baked beans or bananas or oranges, and I am not fond of apples or rice or cheese, and absolutely will never not ever eat a tomato.?

Allen Felix, All Saints Primary
?Oh no, cried the old man as his cone fell and splashed on the street by his feet. He looked longingly at the ice cream then at the children. Sam and Mike looked at each other.?

Lawrence Vernon, Judge, Reading Contest
?Basically we have a guidance sheet, a score sheet that looks for things like clarity in reading, the pronunciation of the words, the way you express yourself and the way you?if you are comfortable with the judges, with the audience, at ease with the audience, that sort of thing. There are about six of seven criteria that we look for.?

Unfortunately, an oversight by some schools led to the disqualification of two of today?s competitors after their stories failed to meet the required time limit.

Lawrence Vernon
?The better readers today were disqualified because they didn?t reach the four minute mark. The story was too short that they were reading, so that?s what Mrs. Myvett was trying to explain. We have rules so we have to abide by them and she is going to call the schools to make sure that they have the length of the story in place for the future elimination rounds.?

Myrtle Myvett, Programme Coord., Child Services, Nat?l Library Service
?Our contestant who would have won this morning?s contest is the contestant that was disqualified, and we are so sorry to say that. That person would have been Segunie Allen from Ebenezer primary school.?

First place instead went to eight year old Andrea Avaloy of Central Christian Assembly.

Kendra Griffith
?Do you like to read??

Andrea Avaloy
?Shakes head yes.?

Kendra Griffith
?What do you like to read??

Andrea Avaloy
?Five little monkeys.?

Kendra Griffith
?That?s your favourite book??

Andrea Avaloy
?Shakes head, yes.?

Kendra Griffith
?Now how do you feel now that you have won??

Andrea Avaloy
?Good.?

Andrea will now go on to the finals to be held on November eighth at the Belize Elementary Auditorium.

It has been four years since the last reading competition was held. According to Librarian Lusiola Castillo, funding has been lacking since they took the project countrywide in 2002.

Lusiola Castillo
?We have not been able to secure that kind of funding for a national story reading competition. Therefore, we thought that it was very important and we cannot eliminate it from our activities and so we decided to have it within Belize.?

In the absence of the contest the library has been continuing its other efforts to get kids to pick up a book. But while the benefits of reading are many, Castillo says the activity remains off limits to certain populations.

Lusiola Castillo
?Statistics have shown that more children are reading, although it wouldn?t be the number that we would expect and especially within the lower straight off society, we find that those are the kids that because they don?t have access to reading materials because it is expensive, then they don?t feel that they?they don?t find themselves reading. Also the culture within those families, it?s more economic oriented, so you would find them selling stuff on the streets or doing something to generate income for the families and they don?t … it?s a luxury and buying materials as well is more than a luxury.?

That?s where the public libraries come in as children can access reading materials without having to spend any money. … And in case you have been trying in vain to get your child to pick up a book, Castillo offers this tip.

Lusiola Castillo
?It?s very important that children be read to and not just be read to in a monotonous tone. Put action into it, put energy into it and then the child will be able to pick it up from there.?

If the librarians still cannot muster funding for a national competition in 2007, they will instead move the contest to a different district every year.

Kendra Griffith reporting for News Five.

Eliminations will be held every Tuesday and Thursday leading up to the November eighth finals.