Almond Read-a-Thon: Ready, Set, Read!
January 12-30, 2026
Week 3 Updates: The Final Chapter - Let’s Read to the Finish!
This is the final week of our 2026 Read-a-Thon. So far, Almond readers have read 3,440 hours, which is 42 minutes per day per student! Let’s make a strong final push to support our Chapter Champs!
Don’t forget:
Log home reading minutes: Please enter your reader’s minutes by the cutoff on Friday, 1/30/26. https://www.read-a-thon.com/readers/login.
Spend your student’s “RAT” Bucks: 15% of a student’s individual fundraising dollars on the Read-a-Thon site are credited as “RAT Bucks,” and can be redeemed in the site’s prize catalog on or before 2/8/26. The prize store cannot be reopened once it is closed. All prizes will be shipped to the school.
We need parent volunteers to help distribute prizes on 3/4/26 & 3/5/26. Please sign up on ClassroomParent!
Medal Ceremony: Our top three readers by minutes per grade and top classes by grade groupings will be recognized in a special ceremony at Assembly on Wednesday, 3/4/26.
Update on Buy-It-Now Experiences!
Our Buy-It-Now Experiences are still available, but selling fast! https://almond.classroomparent.com/store?tag=2026+Read-a-Thon.
Mrs. McCullough, our wonderful Almond librarian, has offered up two coveted Librarian for a Day spots for sale - one is still available (Grade 1, 2, or 3) for any interested bookworms!
Our super-popular teacher parties are mostly sold out, but a few spots remain for certain grades. Please see below for what’s still available!
It’s also summer camp booking season, and we do have a few still available for sale - all are at meaningful discounts to face value, so please take a look!
What’s a Read-a-Thon?
A Read-a-Thon is an event where students log as many reading minutes as possible! Almond’s school-wide reading goal is 1,900 hours and our teachers and school librarian Mrs. McCullough will also set reading goals by grade level and provide opportunities to clock reading minutes at school.
Our Read-a-Thon has two primary objectives:
To kick off 2026 by getting our students excited about making reading a daily habit!
To give our students a way to help raise money for Almond programs.
Why are we doing this as a fundraiser?
When students families ask friends and family to sponsor them during the Read-a-Thon, they help play a role in raising funds needed to support critical school needs every year, such as:
Technology purchases for staff and classrooms
Classroom supplies and teaching materials
Library materials and playground equipment
Special school assemblies, Family Science Night, and Field Day
Starting Arts K-3 Program – Music, Art, Dance, Drama
Field Trip transportation for grades 4-6
During this year’s Read-a-Thon we’re also raising funds by selling specially-curated and limited-edition experiences such as teacher-hosted parties and summer camps. Check out these “Buy-It-Now Experiences” in the ClassroomParent Store here!
Who participates? How will they be recognized for their reading efforts?
We’re aiming for 100% participation in this free event. Your support makes all the difference for creating excitement among students and helping raise funds for the Almond PTA.
Students will be recognized as they reach reading milestones and the 3 readers in each grade who read the most minutes will receive medals. The class that reads the most minutes within each grade will receive an extra recess, and the whole school will receive an extra recess if we reach our goal of 1,900 hours!
How do I support my student?
Please activate your students' Read-a-Thon accounts for FREE with this link: https://www.read-a-thon.com/readers/r/DoYMcE/.
The steps to sign up are straightforward and should take fewer than 5 minutes. Once registered, you can support your student by logging home reading minutes on the Read-a-Thon site and reading to younger readers who can’t read on their own yet.
We can’t do this without you and your student. Let’s turn pages, raise funds, and come together as a community!
