7,467 books.

It’s obvious that Bluffton first graders love to read.

The students held a three-week March Madness reading incentive competition last month.

During the competition, students in Mrs. Combs’ class earned first place overall, reading 1,848 books.

At the conclusion of the reading madness a total of 7,467 books were read, and the teachers told the Icon that they are impressed and proud of all the hard-working first grade readers.

Each of the five first grade classes had top readers. Those students' names follow and their photos are below:
Mrs. Steinmetz’s class
Duncan Powell, Blakelee Ramge, Henri Schroeder
Miss Unterbrink’s class
Molly Byers, Jase Gleason, Gunner Koogler
Mrs. Combs’ class
Avery Wise, Kenlee Geiser, Lexi Roby
Mrs. Huffman’s class
Josie Myers  Isaiah Warner, Jacob Fleming, Addy Barrett
Mrs. Diemer’s class
Isla Gordon Hancock, Ethan Honse, Madelyn Agner

In addition, students held a Happy Meal lunch with their teachers. Winners were a mix of the top readers in each class plus a lucky ticket drawn in each class.

Students received a ticket for each 10 book read during the three-week period.