The spray-painted golden book doesn’t seem like it would be a sought-after prize. But for Murphey Traditional Academy, it’s similar to the Stanley Cup. The class that reads the most minutes each month gets ownership of the book, and that has paid off for the school, which was named a GCS Reads 20 School of the Month.

Students there read an average of more than 1,000 minutes each in May, helped in part by a literacy festival in April that featured guest authors and activities, as well as a buy-one-get-one free book fair. Creative monthly challenges from media specialist Angela Mayberry also help promote GCS Reads 20.

Mayberry’s students are invited to visit the media center this summer, where she’s hosting Camp Read-A-Lot. On five consecutive Wednesdays, students can visit the school to learn about camping basics, bird watching, animal tracks and constellations through books and hands-on activities. Students will also have the chance to check out books and take home free books.

GCS has partnered with SpareTime Entertainment to offer a summer reading incentive for all students, who could win coupons and prizes for bowling and other games.

Murphey Traditional Academy, representing the Central Region, recorded an average of 1,086 minutes per student last month. Three other schools were named GCS Reads 20 Schools of the Month:

• Vandalia Elementary (Southeastern Region), with 400 minutes on average;
• Brooks Global Studies (Northern Region), with 478 minutes; and
• Florence Elementary (Western Region), with 414 minutes on average.

GCS Reads 20 encourages students to read 20 minutes per day, which benefits students academically in all subject areas.