Fostertown School Celebrates Literacy with Bracket Tournament Competition

Fostertown celebrated literacy and the joy of reading with its month-long annual Tournament of Books. The tournament ended with an energy-filled Reading Rally where the 2024 Book of the Year was revealed. Both the tournament and the rally remind the students of the importance of literacy while enjoying some friendly competition. It is a favorite event each year that all look forward to.

The Tournament of Books follows the design of a March Madness NCAA Tournament Bracket. The 16 original books became the Elite 8 which progressed to the Final 4 and finally into the Championship Battle.   The Tournament of Books is organized and facilitated by Mrs. Dominguez, one of Fostertown’s reading specialists. For 23 days, students listened to stories read aloud by teachers over Screencastify and voted every other day via Google Form for their favorite book. The two books that eventually went head to head in the Championship Battle were ultimate fan favorite Dino Wrestling, read by Mr. McCoy and Mr. Mohammed, and ultimate fan favorite Potato Pants, read by Mrs. Nelson. 

At the Reading Rally, the original 16 books were introduced with the NFA Cheerleaders welcoming each book and reader with pompoms and roaring cheers from the crowd.   As each book was eliminated from the tournament, a lucky scholar was selected randomly from a wheel of names spun by Superintendent Dr. Manning-Campbell. At long last, the moment the students had been waiting for arrived.  Who would be crowned 2024 Book of the Year?  Dino Wrestling by Lisa Wheeler took the win, beating Potato Pants by Laurie Keller by less than 7% of the vote. The crowd went wild especially since the readers of these top two favorite books arrived in storybook costumes.

The rally culminated with a competition cheer from the cheerleaders as well as the announcement of the winners of the Fostertown Yearbook cover competition. Students recognized for their winning designs were  Mattingly Riglioni, Ilona Orris and Kristen Santiago. Students who signed up for their first Newburgh Free Library card were acknowledged and celebrated as well. 

Story provided by Fostertown School principal, Dr. Isabela Carias-Vazquez.

All photos can be viewed and downloaded for free by clicking the title link below. 

Fostertown School Book Madness Tournament | Photos

ATTENTION: Are your scholars or colleagues doing something great? Please contact the district Communications Team at communications@necsd.net. We’d love to visit your class or event and/or post your pictures and recap to highlight the amazing accomplishments throughout our district!