Courts reading competition winner urges peers to read

Nine-year-old Rheanna Harry has some advice for her contemporaries who may be looking to enter the Courts Reading Competition next year.

“I would like to encourage them to read a lot, because reading is really good.”{{more}}

The grade five pupil of the Windsor Primary School proved that reading can take you places, when she earned the right to represent St Vincent and the Grenadines in Grenada at the finals of the Courts OECS Competition later this month.

Harry out-read six other finalists last Friday at Frenches House in Kingstown, winning both the narrative round, as well as the newspaper article piece, both of which the students were seeing for the first time.

Young Harry confessed that while the narrative (The Cracked Pot) was easier for her to manoeuvre, she had some difficulty with the SEARCHLIGHT newspaper article (SVG wins ICT project of the year award).

Placing second was Anelia Cato of the Kingstown Preparatory School, while Brielle Compton of the Bequia Anglican Primary School placed third. The other finalists were Zonique Williams of the Georgetown Primary School, Shamiah James of the Bequia Seventh-Day Adventist Primary School, Kaje Jack of the Colonarie Government School, and Rianna Blake of the Petersville Primary School.

Besides representing her country, Harry also won herself $2,000, an Iview tablet compliments SEARCHLIGHT and one year’s e-subscription to SEARCHLIGHT, an opportunity to read a news segment on SVG TV, free dental services from Professional Family Dentistry and Oral Surgery, and cash towards a savings account from the law firm of Rochelle A Forde.

Other contributors to the prizes for the students include LIME, Multigraphics Limited, CK Greaves, Accent Dental, and Jujube bookstore.

Michelle Samuel, Courts country manager, said that her company was proud to organize the eagerly anticipated event, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, for the sixth year.

She pointed out that the competition gives students throughout an opportunity to sharpen their reading and comprehension skills, and advised the students to make reading a priority.

As for Rheanna, she intends to be the one to bring the trophy home to St Vincent and the Grenadines for the first time in the history of the competition.

Smiling from ear to ear, she thanked her mother, her teacher and her headteacher for guiding her along the way, and promised to do her best on October 16, when the finals come around in Grenada.