Sullivan West battle of the books winners announced

NARROWSBURG, NY — Students at Sullivan West recently competed in the final round of the Battle of the Books. A voluntary reading incentive program, Battle of the Books requires students to work as a team to read books from an official reading list and then answer questions about the books during a friendly game-show style competition. Through the fun and excitement of the competition, students improve reading skills, increase reading comprehension, learn to work as a team and mature in their choices of reading materials. At each branch of the district, two teams competed to become the winner for that school. The team with the most correct answers became the champion.

According to school library media specialist, Michelle Musetti, the program, which began last year and will hopefully become an annual event, was very successful. “We had another great year, with more than forty seventh- and eighth-graders choosing to participate. It’s not an easy program. There are thirty titles on the reading list and that’s quite a commitment for these students, when you consider that this is in addition to their regular classroom work and other extra-curricular activities. But they really seem to enjoy it.”

At Sullivan West’s Narrowsburg elementary school, students on the winning team included sixth graders Jackson Mann, Sam Mullins, Justin Zaccari and Kyle Freda. Final round winners received a $50 saving bond, donated by the First National Bank of Jeffersonville.

At Sullivan West’s Delaware Valley elementary school, Raider Readers 3, a 6th grade team, won the final round with the most points. The team’s members were Melinda Coo-Sykes, Nora Yelekli, Christiana Scozzari and Gabrielle Humleker. Final round winners received a $50 savings bond donated by The First National Bank of Jeffersonville.

In Sullivan West High School, more than forty junior high school students competed in the program. Last year’s competition was undefeated for the second year in a row. The winning team included eighth graders Sarah Blanton, Kasi Pilny, Kelsey Ritz, Kellee Thelman and Molly Stabile

First prize was a $50 savings bond for each member of the winning team, donated by the First National Bank of Jeffersonville. Second place winners each received a $10 gift certificate donated by The Secret Garden, third place winners received a free admission pass donated by the Callicoon Theatre, fourth place finishers received a coupon for a quarter pound of chocolate donated by The Three Chocolateers and fifth place team members received a coupon for a free slice of pizza and a small drink donated by Michaelangelo’s Restaurant.