Lakeview Elementary School recently wrapped up its third annual March Book Madness, a schoolwide literacy initiative that combined reading, friendly competition and community engagement to inspire a love of books among students and families.
Inspired by the excitement of the NCAA basketball tournament, March Book Madness featured a bracket-style competition of carefully selected picture books representing a variety of genres, themes and reading levels. Throughout the tournament, classes listened to the books read out loud and recorded by Lakeview staff members before voting for their favorite titles to advance through each round. This year’s champion was “The Wild Robot on the Island” by Peter Brown, a picture book adaptation of Brown’s bestselling novel “The Wild Robot.”
“Creating joyful and meaningful reading experiences helps students build positive connections to literacy that can last a lifetime,” Principal Elizabeth Blessing said. “March Book Madness brings our entire school community together around books while encouraging students and families to share in the excitement of reading.”
Families were encouraged to participate throughout the program by watching the read-alouds at home and discussing the stories together. The school also hosted seven themed spirit days to build excitement during the competition, including Lakeview Spirit Wear Day and Tropical Day.
“The Wild Robot on the Island” themes of friendship, belonging and adaptation became the inspiration for the culminating event, an outdoor celebration on Lakeview’s back field titled “The Wild Robot Rescue,” which brought the winning story to life through interactive challenges and storytelling.
During the celebration, students and staff watched and cheered as Blessing, dressed as Roz the robot, “crashed” onto the field and worked alongside Assistant Principal Leigh Galione, acting as a forest ranger, and several teachers dressed as forest animals to complete a series of challenges with a goal of rebuilding the robot piece by piece. After completing each obstacle, including animal rescues, river crossings and balance beam challenges, Blessing earned another robot part until “The Wild Robot” was fully restored, highlighting themes of teamwork, friendship and perseverance.
“This celebration was truly a schoolwide effort and a wonderful example of what can happen when an entire community comes together for students,” Assistant Principal Leigh Galione said. “From planning challenges and building costumes to organizing games and helping everything run smoothly, so many staff members contributed their creativity and energy to make this an unforgettable experience for our students.”
The district also recognized the many staff members and volunteers who helped bring the event to life, including Lakeview’s maintenance and custodial teams, physical education teachers and support staff. Special thanks were extended to custodian Brian Brehm for helping fabricate the robot costume, kindergarten teachers Shannon O’Shea and Amanda Lyons for developing the celebration script and challenges, and the Lakeview PTO for generously providing the books used throughout the tournament.
By combining literacy, creativity and collaboration, March Book Madness continues to grow as a beloved Lakeview tradition that encourages students to see reading as both exciting and meaningful.
