March Madness Reading Challenge!

Dear Green Meadow Families,

Each year, we join schools across the country in celebrating reading through the Read Across America program led by National Education Association. The goal of this nationwide initiative is to help children develop strong reading habits beyond the school day and habits that support academic success and foster a lifelong love of learning.

This year, Green Meadow is bringing a little extra excitement to the celebration with a new theme: March Madness! On Friday, your child brought home a book bag along with their Reading Challenge folder. Today marks the official start of our challenge.

As your child participates, we encourage you to focus on helping them build the habit of reading each day rather than rushing to complete the challenge quickly. Consistent, enjoyable reading time, whether it’s independently, with a sibling, or with you, makes the biggest impact.

We will continue to build enthusiasm and momentum at school and will regularly send books home to support this effort. Together, we can nurture confident readers and set our children up for continued success.

In partnership,

Karen Lindquist - Green Meadow Principal

Kate Murray - Green Meadow Assistant Principal

Green Meadow Staff

During our school-wide assembly last week students listened to the book written by NBA basketball star LeBron James. You can listen to the book with your child by clicking on the link below. Students promised to commit to doing their very best each day, in school and outside of school, by working hard, being kind, and investing in their own success.

On Friday, students brought home a bag with books and their reading challenge folder. They have been challenged to read 600 minutes this month outside of their school day. At the end of the month, students can turn in their challenge folder for a chance to win a gift card for a book from our Green Meadow Book Fair in May. This is a great opportunity to establish reading routines at home that can last well beyond the month of March.

Green Meadow students and staff will be reading these eight books over the month of March and voting on their favorites as a class. At the end of the month, we will celebrate our favorite book. In the meantime, we will be building vocabulary, identifying character traits, examining text structures, and developing comprehension.

In February 2026, 172 Green Meadow second and third graders responded to a school-based survey about reading. The survey was linked through Clever and students accessed the survey independently. We were excited to learn that 97% of our students have access to books at home. We have been working hard to promote our Book Nook, which provides books to students to borrow or keep.

Our next focus is in supporting students and families with building strong reading habits at home and we hope that you will partner with us on this work this month.

Join us on Thursday, March 26, at the PTO's Harlem Wizards event at Maynard High School! Staff members will be at the game to celebrate with students. This event is both a fundraiser for our Green Meadow PTO and an opportunity to build community.

To purchase tickets click this link: https://greenmeadowpto.membershiptoolkit.com/

For information about financial assistance, please email Karen Lindquist at klindquist@maynard.k12.ma.us