The new commons was full of excited ninth graders Monday morning. These students’ high energy was not in response to a club activity or festive event. The students gathered to put their knowledge to the test in the Battle of the Books.

Freshmen Rebecca Devereaux, Jordyn Butcherite, Estela Navarro, and Estefany Herrera were the champions of the competition.

“We decided there would be a team uniform. So we wore headbands,” Devereaux said. “I just thought it was fun to work as a team. We just went for it and it happened to work out.”

The event was coordinated by freshman English teacher Molly Butler. She was assisted by the other freshmen English teachers. Battle of the Books aimed to promote literacy by actively engaging students in a competition that began early February at the turn of the semester.

Each team was composed of four to six ninth graders. The team then divided how many of the 11 novels individual members were expected to read. During the first round of the competition students competed against their own classmates and only one team from each class advance to the competition Monday morning.

“It was a smashing success. I saw it as an opportunity for the English teachers to work together. It was great to see other teacher excited about the engagement. And the students got to read books they might otherwise not read,” Butler said. “I am just so grateful for the teachers and community members that were willing to help. I don’t think I have ever had so many community members jump on board and that just shows how much we care about our students.”

Central Washington University Mosaic GEAR UP provided breakfast for the event. Prizes were sponsored by several community donors. Meanwhile, the Kindles for the champions were sponsored by the Wenatchee Sunrise Rotary Club.

“Our motto is ‘service above self’ and literacy is a big thing that we like to contribute to,” Rotary Club member Carol Adamson said. “I absolutely loved to see the students getting so into the competition.”

The four winners will attend the May 19 Rotary Club meeting to talk about their experience and Battle of the Books overall.

Butler coordinated a similar event at Oak Harbor High School where she was formerly employed. This event has been in works since last year.

“Molly Butler and the freshmen English teachers team really worked well together and made this a successful thing for students,” Assistant Principal Donna Moser said. “Encouraging reading for pleasure is a great goal. I walked into some freshmen classes Friday [May 1] and I could feel the effort and personalized learning that was going on.”