Kelendria Hunte from the St. Michael’s Anglican School has just been crowned the winner of the 2024 Rotary Club of Antigua’s annual Book Reading Competition! This 10-year-old superstar beat out stiff competition from eight other students from public and private primary schools across the island.

Kelendria emerged victorious after impressing the judges in two rounds. In the first round, she read a specified portion from this year’s featured book, “Timothy Pratt’s, Big Opportunity”, written by local author, Mrs. Jessie Grindley-Lewis.

And in the final half of the competition, Kelendria presented a selected news item as a newscaster, wowing the judges with her confidence and delivery.

Shanee Francis from the Five Islands Primary School took the 2nd place position, and Adalia Mills from the S.R. Olivia David Primary School was awarded third place.

But it wasn’t just about the top three spots – Zorique Charles from the Sunnydale Primary School was named the most promising reader, and all the participants should be proud of their hard work and dedication.

The competition’s judges, Cathy-Ann Tonge-James, Marcia Chatham, and Ulric Smith, had the tough job of selecting the winners, but they were impressed by the talent and enthusiasm of all the participants.

And we can’t forget to mention the amazing sponsors and Rotarians who contributed to the various prizes presented to the students.

Chairperson of the 2024 Book Reading, Rotarian Anastasia Wilson, congratulated all the participants and the winners on a job well done and hailed the competition as another literary success. We can’t wait to see what these young readers achieve in the future!