Congratulations to the Winners of the Spring 2012 National Middle School Student Crew Contest!

The First-Place Winner of 2,000 Scholastic Dollars and a personal visit from author Roland Smith is:

Tahlequah Middle School
Tahlequah, OK
Student Crew Count: 7
Book Fair Theme: Dive Into Reading

The Student Crew of Tahlequah Middle School made their spring Fair the best Fair the school has ever had! To make the Dive Into Reading theme come to life, students made homemade schools of fish and hung them in the hallways leading up to the Fair. Once shoppers were inside the media center, they truly felt like they were under water: a giant octopus and scuba diver hung from the ceiling and a floor-to-ceiling ocean backdrop wrapped around the perimeter of the media center. In addition, students could stand inside a life-size shark’s mouth to get their photo taken. Not only did the students get to enjoy the under-the-sea Fair, but the entire school community got involved when the Crew hosted four Family Events: Donuts with Dads, Munchies with Moms, Goodies with Grands, and Donuts for Donations.

The Book Fair was not just about the fun activities and cool decorations, but was also about reading. To promote reading, the principal acted as a reading inspector and handed out prizes whenever she caught a student reading. Students were also awarded a grab bag prize when they purchased a book from a teacher’s Classroom Wish List. One of the favorite Book Fair activities was the principal and assistant principal agreeing to participate in a Kiss the Pig contest to raise money for One for Books. In another activity, students participated in a basketball buyout which allowed students to attend a basketball game between students and facutly. Their entry fee into the game was put in the jar of the principal they wanted to see kiss a pig. The money raised was used to purchase books for children in the community who could not afford them. In addition to students from all grades helping with signage, the Crew and drama class made a commercial for the morning announcements. To drive additional traffic, the Fair was advertised on the local radio station, in the local newspaper, the media center’s Facebook page, Twitter, and the school’s website. To keep the momentum going and excitement increasing, each day during the Fair, the Crew moved a marker up their palm tree goal chart. On the final day of the Fair, the marker had to be placed in the leaves because they had surpassed their goal of selling 1,200 books – which led to an increase of 36% over their last spring Fair!

Second-place winners of 1,000 Scholastic Dollars are:

Maryville Middle School
Maryville, TN
Student Crew Count: 52
Book Fair Theme: The Hunger Games

The odds were in Maryville Middle School’s favor this spring with their Hunger Games-themed Book Fair. The Student Crew helped to design glittering golden mockingjays, displays for each district from the book, a Capitol backdrop for photo ops, and eye-catching posters and signs. Throughout the Fair, students called “Hob Helpers” led activities, greeted customers, and assisted with purchases. To promote the Book Fair, a group of staff members wrote, filmed, directed, acted in, and designed costumes for a video starring themselves as Hunger Games tributes explaining the Book Fair. During Book Fair week, the mockingjay call rang out on the school’s PA system every morning and was followed by a principal’s announcemenet about the Fair. Activities such as learning to tie knots like Finnick, Hunger Games Bingo, and more increased student excitement in the Fair. This Book Fair definitely caught fire at Maryville Middle School!

Sammy McClure Middle School
Dallas, GA
Student Crew Count: 46
Book Fair Theme: Blast to the Past

The Student Crew at Sammy McClure Middle School brought shoppers back to the past in their ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s themed Fair. Students in tie-dyed shirts distributed peace signs and disco ball necklaces to promote the Fair and also used booktalks, commercials, signs, closed-circuit slides, and more to promote the Fair. High school cast members of the play Hairspray also performed during lunch to promote the Fair, while the Crew and chorus created a flash mob. During the Blast to the Past Bash, teachers previewed books, created their Classroom Wish Lists, and tested their decade knowledge to win prizes. Activities to generate excitement included a big hair and Rubik’s cube contests. The school’s principal also dressed up as Elvis and performed live on the morning announcements once their sales goal was met.

Alva Middle School
Alva, OK
Student Crew Count: 15
Book Fair Theme: Book Fair Luau

The Student Crew at Alva Middle School helped to transform their media center into a tropical destination, complete with totem poles, a boogie board, surfboards, paper flowers, and more! To increase student excitement, several contests were held: guess the number of words in a novel; dress up a paper coconut like a book character; a quiz about Hawaii. The school also participated in a reading challenge where the students had to earn 555 AR points during Book Fair week. When the goal was reached, the principal dressed in a grass skirt and a boys group sang a song they created about the Fair. When girls AR tested, they received a flower for their hair and when boys tested, they received an aloha bracelet. Both items generated excitement about reading and the Fair. The Book Fair was also open for three special evening events and students were encouraged to bring grandparents to receive a lei. All of these efforts made this Fair one of the best in Alva’s history.

J.E.J. Moore Middle School
Disputanta, VA
Student Crew Count: 52
Book Fair Theme: Survivor: Book Fair

Grass skirts, bamboo walls, vines, and a tiki hut helped transform the media center into the ultimate space for a reading adventure. To get the school excited about the Fair, the Crew held contest such as guessing the number of gummy worms in Oreo dirt, a Survivor trivia contest, and a survivor slogan contest. Students also submitted their own survivior stories about overcoming adversities. Students casted votes for their favorite book on Survivor Island, which was a tropical display with four popular books from the Fair. The book with the least amount of votes was cast off the island after each voting day. To generate excitement around One for Books, the Crew held Survivor Challenge Days. On Goo Challenge Day, for a $1 donation, students reached into a container filled with bug slime to attempt to capture the prize bug. On Shock Challenge Day, students could try out a VandeGraff generator (which created static electricity). Students could also donate dollars downard having teachers a bug in the “Bug for Books” challenge. These efforts helped the school raise more than $1,000 for One for Books!

East Paulding Middle School
Dallas, GA
Student Crew Count: 10
Book Fair Theme: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Shoppers walked through a wardrobe as they entered the media center at East Paulding Middle School, which was transformed into Narnia. A forest of trees, lamp post, the White Witch’s castle, Aslan’s camp, and more made the media center come to life! To increase student excitement about the Fair, the Crew hosted several contests: hiding a stuffed lion around the school; if students spent $20 at the Fair, they were able to participate in a scavenger hunt; and when students donated $1 to One for Books, their name was placed into a drawing to be entered into a donut-eating contest with the vice principal. The Fair was also promoted to the entire school community with a calling post, morning announcements, flyers, information on the school’s Facebook page, and more! Staff members also received Turkish delight invitations to the Teacher Sneak Peek. Parent participation was encouraged by giving a prize to the first 25 students who brought their parent to the Fair. All of these activities and events helped the school reach their Book Fair goal and even surpass it!

Click here to see who won the President’s Award for Exceptional Performance.

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