Henry Daily Herald

Special Photo: Timber Ridge Elementary School students compete in a round of the county-level reading bowl competition, held Jan. 28, at Luella Middle School in Locust Grove.

The winners of Henry County Schools’ Seventh Annual Reading Bowl have been announced. Six teams from the school district have advanced to the regional contest Saturday, Feb. 4, at Clayton State University, in Morrow.

The winners represent three divisions — elementary school, middle school, and high school. County winners from the elementary school level are: first-place finishers, from Cotton Indian Elementary School; and second-place finishers, from Oakland Elementary School.

At the middle school level, first-place finishers are from Union Grove Middle School, and second-place finishers are from Ola Middle School. At the high school level, first-place winners are from Ola High School, and the second-place winners are from Woodland High School.

The teams, consisting of 10 pupils each, will compete for a chance to test their knowledge in the 2012 Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl in DeKalb County.

The reading competitions have grown over the years, with more and more schools competing, according to Renee Wolfinger, a library media specialist at Timber Ridge Elementary School, in McDonough. She and Jennifer McCrary, a library media specialist at Cotton Indian Elementary School, in Stockbridge, helped organize the Henry County Reading Bowl.

Wolfinger noted that this year’s county-level competition included 26 elementary school teams, 10 middle school teams, and four high school teams.

More than 500 individuals are expected to attend the Fourth Annual Metro Atlanta Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl Competition at Clayton State on Saturday, from 9 a.m., until 1 p.m.

The county and regional competitions lead up to divisional reading bowls on Feb. 25, and then, the state reading bowl on March 24.

The state competition is named for a library media specialist at Sky Haven Elementary School, in DeKalb County. Helen Ruffin was said to have been inspired by the Georgia Children’s Book Award Nominee Program, created by the Department of Language Education in the University of Georgia’s College of Education. In 1985, she served on the literature program’s selection committee. She later used the nominated books to create game-like reading competitions designed to encourage her students to read.

Wolfinger explained that the reading bowl has been a vehicle for promoting literacy, building self-esteem, developing cooperative-learning skills, and improving academic achievement among the students who participate.

“At the elementary level, there are not a lot of times where you get to compete like that,” said Wolfinger. “The kids can start in May or June, reading the books. And from September through January, we’re meeting three of four times a month preparing for this.

“It’s a lot of commitment and dedication from these students, and every year, there’s more competition,” she added. “It’s so great to see every body come out and support something that’s academic. It’s wonderful to see all of the support — everyone coming out for an academic competition. It’s promoting literacy, and it’s teaching kids to read in a new way.”