Seymour Winter Reading Program
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The Seymour Winter Reading program invites participation from elementary school students (preK-5th grade) from Public and Private Schools from Jackson to the Coast.

RULES
From December 2018 to January 4^th, 2019, students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade must read books that are appropriate for their respective grade level. Each student will need to write the title of the book on the bookmark (provided by USM Athletics) and have a parent or guardian initial it. The title of the book is required to provide the teacher with information pertaining to the types of books being read. Parents of pre-K, kindergarten, and first grade students may read to their children in order for the student to participate in the program.

STUDENT REWARDS
Students are encouraged to achieve program goals based on their grade-level. They are as follow:

Students in pre-K through 3^rd grade

Reading Goal: Students who read at least five (5) books will receive one voucher, which admits the student and two (2) other guests (total of three people), to the USM women’s basketball games on Saturday, February 2^nd, 2019 and Saturday, February 23^rd, 2019.

Students in 4^th and 5^th grade

Reading Goal: Students who read at least three (3) books will receive one voucher, which admits the student and two (2) other guests (total of three people), to the USM women’s basketball games on Saturday, February 2^nd, 2019 and Saturday, February 23^rd, 2019.

In order to be able to facilitate your students receiving their tickets in a timely manner, the women’s basketball vouchers will be mailed to the schools in late-December 2018. As the students turn in their bookmarks in early January, coordinators and teachers can distribute those vouchers as appropriate based on which reading goals are met. The signed posters and Women’s Basketball vouchers will continue to be sent to the school after the schools have reported their final numbers to the Seymour Winter Reading Program.

SCHOOL AWARDS
During halftime of the February 23^rd women’s basketball game, there will be an on-court recognition for the top three reading schools; winners are determined by the percentage of students who achieve the Reading Goal. Classrooms from any school that have 100% of their students meet the reading goal will earn complimentary tickets to a USM Men’s Basketball game and an autographed USM Women’s Basketball poster for their classroom.

The top three reading schools will be contacted in late January 2019.

COORDINATOR PARTICIPATION

We will need a volunteer from each school to serve as Coordinator. Please immediately fill out Appendix A to name your Coordinator and email/fax it to Cameron Corken, USM Athletics Marketing Graduate Assistant, at Cameron.Corken@usm.edu / (601) 266-6651 by Friday, December 14, 2018.

The students will have from December 2018 to January 4^th, 2019 to finish reading. The Coordinator will be responsible for calculating each classroom’s total and getting those totals to USM Athletics by Friday, January 18^th, 2019, using a form provided by USM Athletics in early January. Based on this information, we will mail women’s basketball ticket vouchers and signed posters to your school for the Coordinator to distribute to the teachers and students as appropriate. We will also offer enough passes for any staff member of the school that wishes to attend the game.

TEACHER PARTICIPATION
Each teacher is asked to enthusiastically inform the students of the program and to follow the established time line.
Ø   Late November-Early December 2018: (The Coordinator decides the most appropriate time to introduce the program to the teachers and students): Introduce your students to the program by explaining the details of the requirements. Send a parent letter (provided by USM Athletics) home with students along with one bookmark.

Ø   Week of January 7^th 2019: Collect the bookmarks from the students that participated in the program. The bookmarks should then be given to your school’s Coordinator for tabulating. Coordinators will receive a form from USM Athletics during this week, which should be filled out with the school’s final reading numbers and emailed/faxed to Cameron Corken, USM Athletics Marketing Graduate Assistant, at cameron.corken@usm.edu / (601) 266-6629 by Friday, January 18^th, 2019.

Ø   Week of January 7^th 2019: As students return their bookmarks and earn tickets, teachers and coordinators will work together to distribute the appropriate awards to those students who met the Reading Goal.

DOCUMENTS
Signup your School to participate
Appendix A - Coordinator School Info
Letter to Coordinator
Letter to Teachers with Bookmarks
Letter to Parents with Bookmarks
Letter to Parents with Bookmarks - Spanish
Appendix B - Final Numbers from Schools
Letter to Parents with WBB Tickets

University of Southern Mississippi Athletics

Seymour Winter Reading Program SIGN UP NOW

Seymour Winter Reading Program
SIGN UP NOW