The Kiwanis Club of Altoona’s Star Reader program was such a success over the past two years at Penn Lincoln Elementary School that officials decided to expand the program this year to involve students at Juniata Elementary, said Frank Meloy, a past president for both the club and the Altoona Area School Board.

About 250 students in third through fifth grades were sent home Friday with T-shirts and their permission forms to participate in the program, which hands out weekly and monthly prizes to encourage students to read.

Throughout a 14-week period from February to May, the students can log the number of pages they read in a book using their reading passports. If they have their parents sign their passports and return them at the end of each week, they can earn stars and prizes, according to Brandi Orner, Juniata Elementary’s principal.

Some of the weekly prizes students can earn through participating in the program include gel pens, bookmarks and animal squishies, Orner said.

If students return their reading passports at the end of every week in February, they’ll also receive a pizza and games party, she said, adding they’ll play basketball with the Penn State Altoona basketball team if they return their passport every week in March.

By reading and submitting their passport in every week of April, students can earn an opportunity to go bowling at the Bavarian Aid Society, Orner said.

If the students submit their passports during 11 of the 14 weeks, they’ll earn their choice of a pass to DelGrosso’s Amusement Park and Laguna Splash or a mystery prize, Orner said, noting details of the mystery prize are still being worked out but will be announced to the students before April.

Since the program started two years ago at Penn Lincoln, the main incentive was a summer pass to swim at Prospect Park, which will be closed this summer for renovations. Meloy said the Kiwanis Club is still trying to reach a deal with another entity for the students to have fun over the summer.

The mystery prize will likely be a day pass to Urban Air Adventure and Trampoline Park or Slinky Action Zone, he said.

According to Meloy, about 67 students at Penn Lincoln returned their reading passports every week last year and earned their choice of a pass to DelGrosso’s Amusement Park and Laguna Splash or Prospect Park.

The club’s members are excited about the opportunity to expand the program to include Juniata Elementary, he said.

“We’re hoping it’s going to help kids now and throughout their lives,” Meloy said. “The more kids read, the better they’ll become as a reader.”

Orner said the Star Reader program is a great incentive program for the students. She’s excited for them to be a part of it this year.

“I think the more that they go through this and they see everything that they can earn and how much their reading progresses, they’re just going to have so much fun and really look forward to that end game of choosing one of those prizes,” Orner said.

During the program’s kickoff assembly Friday, the students were visibly excited to participate in the program, with many of them raising their hand to indicate they will return their signed permission slips to school on Monday.

Two volunteers from each grade level participated in a game and answered multiple-choice questions about books with help from their peers in the audience, who used sign language to indicate the correct answers.

The Juniata cheerleaders also performed, with help from the school’s mascot, Jaggy the Jaguar.

A similar kickoff assembly will take place at Penn Lincoln Elementary School on Monday.

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.