Tazewell County Reading Bee held at Tazewell Middle School
Mar. 31—TAZEWELL, Va. — For the first time in three years, fourth-grade and fifth-grade teams from Tazewell County schools tested their reading comprehension, spelling prowess and other skills Thursday at the 21st Annual Tom Colley Reading Bee.
Formerly known as the Tazewell County Reading Bee, the competition was renamed the Tom Colley Reading Bee in honor of the late executive editor of the Bluefield Daily Telegraph. Colley, who was chairman of the Literacy Committee of what is now the Chamber of Commerce of the Two Virginias, created the reading bee concept as a way to help children develop a love of reading, according to Superintendent Chris Stacy of Tazewell County Schools.
Due to the pandemic, the students were unable to compete for three years. After competing in classrooms throughout Tazewell Middle school, the students had dinner in the cafeteria before the awards ceremony.
"I'm glad they got to do it," said Melanie Lashinsky, director of elementary instruction and Title I for Tazewell County School. "They were really excited."
Ten teams representing the fourth and fifth grades at five of Tazewell County's schools competed at this year's reading bee. Teams from Abbs Valley Boissevain Elementary School, Cedar Bluff Elementary, Graham Intermediate School, Richlands Elementary School and Tazewell Intermediate School participated.
The teams competed in categories including vocabulary, spelling, comprehension, editing and impromptu.
When the scores were tabulated, the fifth-grade overall winner was Tazewell Intermediate School. Coached by Courtney Mullins, the teams includes students Justin Vadola, Emily Baker, Charley Fowler and Christopher Shrader.
The runner up for the fifth-grade overall winner was Graham Intermediate School. Coached by Jillian McCoy, the team includes students Kenley Parnell, Kali McGuire, Alexander Boerboom and Lucas Phillips.
The fourth-grade overall winner was Cedar Bluff Elementary School. Coached by Dana Smith, the team includes students Karen Nicole Mullins, Erin White, Kien Pham and Rand Robinette.
The fourth-grade runner up for overall winner was Graham Intermediate School. Coached by Sarah Jones, the team includes students Logan Lee, Kyle Leedy, Giuliana Protti-Lawrence and Henry Ward.
Other awards earned by the competitors will appear Saturday in a photo page in the Bluefield Daily Telegraph.
Supporters of the reading bee included the Bluefield Daily Telegraph, the Chamber of Commerce of the Two Virginias and Cole Harley-Davidson.
More supporters included the Community Foundation of the Two Virginias, Inc. through the Jeffrey Edward Shott Memorial Fund, Charles A. and Marjorie M. Peters Fund and the Bluefield Daily Telegraph Literacy Fund.
Mrs. Charles (Dafney K.) Peters, the Bluefield WV Rotary Club, George M. Cruise Foundation, Anytime Fitness, the Family of Eugenia Hancock, First Community Bank, the Princeton WV Rotary Club, Frank Smoot Charitable Trust, Community Radiology of Virginia, Craft Memorial Library, the Bluefield VA Rotary Club and WVVA also supported this year's reading bee along with the Mercer County Board of Education, Tazewell County School Board and the Communities in Schools of the Appalachian Highlands.
— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
