Umhlali Prep’s Grade 3 pupils turned pages into petals this year as the school’s much-loved Reading Tree Programme once again sparked excitement, friendly competition and a growing love for books.

The awards ceremony last week celebrated the success of this creative literacy initiative.

Designed to promote independent reading and build comprehension skills, the programme encouraged pupils to read at least two books a week. After finishing a book, pupils visited junior primary librarian Lucy Robertson, who listened to their retelling and quizzed them on key story details. Each successful book earned a bright flower to add to the ever-growing reading tree.

This colourful, imaginative approach makes reading fun and deeply rewarding. Toward the end of each term, a week is dedicated to “Open Gates,” giving pupils the opportunity to read a book a day, dramatically increasing their totals. By the end of each term, the reading tree bloomed with flowers, each one representing a book read by the Grade Threes.

This year’s winning class was Grade 3 Felgar.

Top achievers were:

• 1st place (76 books): Jude Sharp and Lorenzo Magni.

• 2nd place (75 books): Paxton Wills.

• 3rd place (74 books): Taddeus Maseko, James Taylor, Harper Lupke, Kelly Felgar and Logan de Pinho.

The coveted Sharon Lambson Reading Tree Award went to Sianna Fugard-Gous, recognised for her infectious enthusiasm and genuine love of reading.

The ceremony was made even more memorable with a visit from award-winning children’s author and storyteller Ros Toerien, founder and CEO of The LEARN Project (Let’s Educate A Rainbow Nation). Her message of literacy and imagination was the perfect final chapter to a programme that continues to inspire confident young readers year after year.

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