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Oklahoma City, Thursday, May 28, 2015 – The Oklahoma City Thunder has recognized the top participants in its annual Thunder Reading Challenge, presented by American Fidelity Assurance Company.
Nevaeh Tucker, a second-grader at Parkview Elementary in Oklahoma City, emerged as the top overall reader for all grades, logging 47,884 minutes of reading between November and April.
Micah Sheppard, a kindergartener at Plaza Towers Elementary in Moore; Braeden Brasfield, a first-grader at Little Axe Elementary in Norman; and Grace Roden, a third-grader from Cleveland Bailey Elementary in Midwest City, were each recognized as top readers in their grade levels.
The top readers for each grade level received Thunder prizes, including a team-autographed basketball and a plaque, presented to them by Thunder staff. As the Thunder Reading Challenge overall winner, Nevaeh Tucker received a school assembly featuring Rumble.
“We are so thrilled to give students across the state the opportunity to be part of a Thunder program that promotes excitement around reading,” said Christine Berney, vice president of Community Relations for the Thunder. “We are so grateful for the hard work and dedication from all of the teachers who encourage their students to participate in the Thunder Reading Challenge and allow the program to grow each year.”
For the 2014-15 school year, 1,672 classrooms across the state took part in the Thunder Reading Challenge, with 36,012 students tracking the number of minutes they read. Every month, the Thunder awarded the top reader in each classroom with a Thunder-themed prize and a certificate.
In total, the students who took part in the Thunder Reading Challenge logged 483,682 hours – the equivalent of more than 20,000 days of reading.
The Thunder Reading Challenge has been a part of the Thunder Read to Achieve initiative since the 2009-10 school year. Teachers interested in taking part in the Thunder Reading Challenge are encouraged to monitor the team’s website, Thunder.NBA.com, for details starting in late August.
ABOUT THE THUNDER READING CHALLENGE: The Thunder Reading Challenge is part of the Thunder Read to Achieve initiative, presented by American Fidelity Assurance Company. The program, which is open to kindergarten through third-grade classrooms, challenges young readers to develop good reading habits and a love of reading. Students track their minutes throughout the school year, and the Thunder honors top classroom readers every month and top overall winners at the end of the year.