PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Several Philly students got a surprise Tuesday, when they were rewarded for their reading prowess with a visit from five Phillies players.
The Phils-themed school assembly was the prize for kids at St. Mary Interparochial School at Fifth and Locust streets for their performance in the Phanatic About Reading program. The contest challenges pre-K through eighth grade students to read at least 15 minutes a day.
“Some students were reading 30 minutes a day. Some students were reading above and beyond that,” St. Mary principal Jayda Pugliese told KYW Newsradio.
The 250 kids assembled let out a deafening shriek as the Phillie Phanatic lumbered into the gym, followed shortly after by Phillies Kody Clemens, Buddy Kennedy, Orion Kerkering, Cristopher Sanchez and Weston Wilson.
After the Phanatic frolicked among the students, relief pitcher Kerkering read from one of the Phanatic’s children’s books while his teammates acted out the scenes. After the event, he said the day was “super fun.”
“It was a lot better this year since I wasn’t all by myself, like I was last year – just me and the Phanatic. It made a great time with all the kids,” Kerkering said after the event.
Kennedy, who wore cat ears in one scene, enjoyed the time with young fans. “You know, [to] act silly – not like we have a serious face or anything. It’s pretty special and it was fun to interact with them,” said the infielder. His teammate Wilson said he also enjoyed giving back to the kids.
“It was fun acting out the book in front of all of those kids,” Clemens told KYW Newsradio. “They loved it. They looked like they had a good time. So it’s always fun to get into the community and have some fun with the Phanatic.”
Pugliese says that because of the Phanatic About Reading program, her students were improving their writing skills and talking about what books they’re reading. “That’s a fantastic achievement for our students because it really pushes literacy in a place where literacy can historically be a challenge,” she said.
“We really want our students to become lifelong learners, so it really helps our students to have a friendly competition, have a friendly challenge, and get them to really want to read.”
And the five Phillies guests enjoyed being a part of that challenge and reward. “It was cool just to give back to the kids,” said Wilson, while Sanchez added through an interpreter, “It was a really good time that we had and fun being with them.”