The team from Grey Nun Academy (GNA), an independent, Catholic elementary school in Bucks County, PA, took home a blue ribbon from the Bucks County Reading Olympics held at Neshaminy High School on Wednesday, March 29. Called “The Reading Rebels,” the GNA team was one of 56 teams from 26 area schools competing for top honors.

Grey Nun Academy’s team of seven — Dean DeLuna, Caroline Hill, Nicolette Kirikian, Pierce McGuigan, Liam Murphy, Sejal Patel, and Jacob Tuzza — earned 51 points and a blue ribbon, the competition’s highest achievement.

Led by GNA librarian and multi-media specialist Deborah Koehler, the team prepares for several months by reading from a list of 45 age-appropriate books selected by area teachers and librarians.

“On behalf of everyone at GNA, I want to congratulate our Reading Rebels. We are so proud of our team!” shared Mrs. Koehler. “They put in a lot of time over the past few months to prepare for the competition and they did the hard work that was necessary to earn the highest honor.”

The Reading Olympics competition consists of three rounds of questions related to the stories. At the end of the competition, teams are awarded ribbons according to the number of points received.

“Grey Nun Academy encourages children to pursue extra-curricular activities that have an academic focus. We love to see our students take an interest in activities that broaden their academic horizons and enrich their knowledge,” said Mrs. Deborah Kost, Head of School at GNA. “Mrs. Koehler does a fantastic job of fostering a love of reading in our students from a young age and we are grateful to her for ensuring our students were so well prepared for this competition.”

In addition to their blue ribbon, the GNA Reading Rebels will enjoy a pizza party at school in celebration of their accomplishments.

According to the Bucks IU website, Reading Olympics was created by the Bucks County Free Library, the Bucks County Intermediate Unit, and the Central Bucks School District in an effort to encourage children to become lifelong readers, to read more than they currently do, to read a greater variety of books, and to enjoy the excitement of reading and talking about books with peers. Its team format encourages students to share the challenge of reading the selection of books with their friends.

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