Closing out a series of events recognizing student achievement in reading, Governor de Jongh on Saturday honored St. John student participants of his Summer Reading Challenge program onboard the Discovery glass bottom boat. The event was held on the heels of the companion events recognizing St. Thomas and St. Croix Reading Challenge participants, and paid tribute to the merits of reading, literacy, and educational success. 

Governor John P. de Jongh, Jr. congratulates a St. John student participant of his Summer Reading Challenge program during closing ceremony activities, November 5, 2011.

“Studies consistently show the strong link between reading, children’s educational development and their academic and future success. The Summer Reading Challenge program encourages reading year-round and challenges students to continuously learn, gather new ideas and achieve their hopes and dreams. I am proud of all the students who participated in this year’s challenge and commend the parents, family members and guardians for their efforts to inspire K-6 students to read above and beyond the five book goal,” he said.

Students received medals of achievement at the National Park Dock site on St. John on Saturday. The governor encouraged students gathered dockside “to keep reading” and stressed the importance of reading every day as part of a daily routine, whether newspapers, books, magazines or via online sources. Students then participated in a 2 hour excursion onboard the Discovery glass bottom boat, at the invitation of the governor, as a reward for their reading achievements.

Alice Krall, PTA president at Julius E. Sprauve School, also presented the governor with a Certificate of Appreciation for providing assistance to the school to purchase 150 new lockers for students in grades 4-8. Last year, JESS was recognized by the Governor’s Summer Reading Challenge as the school on St. John with the most student participants. As a reward, the school was awarded $1000, which was utilized to purchase the lockers. The certificate reads: “Certificate of Appreciation presented to Governor de Jongh and his Summer Reading Challenge. Our beautiful new lockers became a reality because of your generous assistance.” 

Krall noted, “the money from the award was the stimulus for the project, and helped pay for them, producing extremely positive results. The students love their new lockers, and we are incredibly grateful for the assistance and recognition of student achievement.”

The 2011 Governor’s Summer Reading Challenge is a partnership effort of the Office of the Governor, the Department of Education, The Division of Libraries, Archives and Museums of DPNR, Learn-It Systems Corporation, and the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands.