Bataan Kindergarten students in Mikayla Gittinger’s class during the opening ceremony for Bataan Kindergarten Letter and Sound Olympics.

Kindergarten students at Bataan Memorial Primary are “Going for Gold” in the Letter and Sound Olympics during the month of February. Kindergarten teachers, along with Kindergarten Literacy Specialist Morgan Siefke, planned the event to increase student letter and sound recognition, an essential skill for students as they begin to learn to read.

Teachers wanted to encourage students to work hard and practice in order to better know their letter names and the sounds of letters in a fun and exciting way.

“We held an opening ceremony in each classroom to kick off our Olympics and discussed what it takes to be a champion,” said Siefke. Students took home a packet with games and activities to practice at home, helping them to earn prizes at school. At the end of the month there will be a closing ceremony to honor kindergarten champions who went for the gold and know all of their letters and sounds.