IVE PTA Read-A-Thon 2025: October 3-17

THE 2025 READ-A-THON IS NOW CLOSED.

GREAT JOB, COUGARS! 

DRESS LIKE A BOOK CHARACTER DAY: OCTober 21

Readers met their goal of reading for 1,000 hours collectively, and that means they get to celebrate with "Dress Like a Book Character Day" on Tuesday, October 21!

 

A few things to know about this special day:

• This is a schoolwide celebration; all students can choose to wear a book-character costume to school on October 21.

• Costumes don't have to be elaborate to be fun. Encourage your students to find items already in your home that can be used to make a costume. Costumes should be appropriate for school (no weapons), and shouldn't cover faces.

• Not sure if your student's favorite costume is a book costume? If it can be found in the library, then it is! That means Pokemon, Minecraft, superheroes and more are welcome.

Time to get reading, Cougars! The IVE PTA is hosting its second-ever Read-A-Thon fundraiser with the goal of raising $20,000 for programs in the school. Register today and start logging reading minutes on October 3. If Cougars read 1,000 hours collectively, they'll earn a special "Dress Like A Book Character" day on a date TBD! Students who fundraise will also get digital "RAT bucks" to spend on toys and other special items at the online Read-A-Thon store. Read on for more information about Read-A-Thon!

STUFFIE SLEEPOVER: OCTober 1

Cougars are invited to send a favorite stuffie to a sleepover in the library with Mrs. McCulloch and "special guests" on Wednesday, October 1, to celebrate the start of Read-A-Thon! Students should bring their stuffie to school Wednesday morning, and the PTA will pick them up from class and take them to the sleepover. (Stuffies will be tagged so no one gets lost at school.) We’ll return stuffies Thursday morning after their night in the library. Students can watch morning announcement the following week to find out what kind of fun their stuffies got up to!

IVE library teacher Nicole McCulloch reads to a group of stuffies at the school's

2024 "Stuffie Sleepover," part of the PTA's Read-A-Thon fundraiser.

HOW READ-A-THON WORKS

As students collect donation pledges via their Read-A-Thon dashboard, they’ll earn digital “RAT bucks” equal to 15 percent of funds they've raised. They can spend “RAT bucks” in the Read-A-Thon online store on prizes ranging from pencils and friendship bracelets to art supplies and stuffies. Prizes will ship to the school be distributed roughly two or three weeks after the fundraiser ends on October 17.

Additionally, students will win a special “Dress Like A Book Character Day” for the entire school if they read for a collective 1,000 hours. Paper forms are available if families would prefer to participate offline. Email readathon@ivepta.org for more info.

All reading counts as Read-A-Thon reading! That includes reading at home or at school, reading to self or listening to someone read aloud, and listening to audiobooks!

WHY FUNDRAISE?

Fundraisers like Read-A-Thon are critical for PTA programs at IVE. This is what pays for field trips, the art program, Popcorn Fridays, Cougar Store and more. This year’s event is more important than ever following PTA budget cuts that impacted teacher allocations, Literacy Night support and our staff grant program. By helping your student fundraise, you’ll be rebuilding a system of support that allows educators at IVE to do their best work.

Please note that the IVE PTA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and many employers offer donation matching. Requesting a match from your employer program is a great way to increase your impact.

We partner with the Read-A-Thon.com platform to bring this fundraiser to IVE. Read-A-Thon.com keeps 25 percent of proceeds raised in exchange for our online prize store and the use of their Read-A-Thon-specific fundraising platform.

Please reach out to readathon@ivepta.org with any questions.