After three weeks of reading to raise money, the students at the Montessori Academy were able to raise over $10,000 dollars, more than double the amount raised in previous years.

The 103 students of the school were able to make reading fun and read over 50,000 pages while they did it.

One teacher spoke highly of one of her students that was not looking forward to the read-a-thon and ended up learning a valuable lesson.

Five year-old Max Corria, one of the students in Mrs. Heather White's three to six year-old class, was not reading at the beginning of the fundraiser.

She said that the read-a-thon provided him with the extra motivation he needed to read more.

By the end of the second week, Max was taking home two 16-page books that he read after school and he was reading them perfectly.

To make the read-a-thon more fun special events were planned like a pyjama day, where students got to wear the pyjamas to school and spent time in the afternoon listening to storytellers.

There was also a dress-up day when the students got to dress up like their favourite character in a book.

At the end of the three weeks students were treated to a party where each student received an award and a book to encourage them to keep reading.

Another event, students at academy joined with the Bermuda National Trust's team of volunteers for the second `School Ground Work Morning'.

The first `School Ground Work Morning', held back in November, resulted in the opening up of the woodland area for the students to play in and helped encourage better growing conditions for area cedar trees.

This time around, the entourage of volunteers, including Government Conservation Officer David Wingate and several workers from the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, helped to clear and clean up more of the school's grounds.

Play and reading time for the students at the Montessori Academy, has taken on a whole new meaning.

Double success: The students at the Montessori Academy, in Warwick, raised over $10,000 during their second annual Read-A-Thon. The students read over 50,000 pages in three weeks and participated in special events like reading to Warwick Pre-school, dress up days and a pajama day.