By PAT NEWMAN
pnewman@thecitizennews.com

It's easy to recognize the students in Cindy Wilson's sixth grade class at Whitewater Middle School.

They're the kids always reading. You see them at the lunch table, on the bus, and at recess totally engrossed in a paperback book.

In January, the class set a goal to accumulate 1,131 points in the accelerated reading program. The payoff for success would be breakfast prepared by Whitewater's principal, Sandra Kidd, and assistant principal Jason Byars. Thursday, the class was served chicken biscuits and Krispy Kreme donuts at their request.

“I was a little worried when I heard about their goal,” Kidd said, while adjusting her chef-for-a-day toque. No records have been kept, but it's likely that these book worms set a new school record.

“The purpose of accelerated reader is to encourage students to read a variety of literature at each student's individual reading level,” explained Wilson. “Students take tests on books they have read to attain points.”

Some students estimated that they read a hundred or more books during the three-month time frame. They are currently debating their next goal — how many books they can digest over the summer.

Wilson's readers include Morgan Bolden, James Brannon, Jay Bright, Ben Byrd, Tannah Castro, Rachael Cohran, Micah Dalcoe, Dalia Elmasry, Sarah Hall, Keegan Hanie, Amanda Howett, Kanad Khanna, Ryan Lamont, Ben Loeffler, Emily Mask, Kaitlin McNally, Kelly Meredith, Chris Rawson, Charles Rowell, Spencer Shelton, Cole Sproles, J.W. White.