Meridian Mayor Percy Bland took a break from his regular administrative duties Thursday to recognize and encourage some of the city’s highest-achieving third graders.   

    The mayor was joined by students from Meridian Public Schools and Lamar School to adorn the “Christmas Tree of Knowledge,” which stands in the second-floor lobby of city hall. The tree, which Bland and his family cut down at Lazy Acres in Chunky, was covered with ornaments based on the young readers’ favorite books and stories.

    The tree was designed to bring awareness to the state-mandated third grade reading gate put into place two years ago, according to Dr. Amy Carter, the assistant superintendent of accountability for the Meridian Public School District.

    “This lets us celebrate our readers who are excelling,” she said. “This is an opportunity to showcase and highlight our third graders who were prepared for the test.”

    Kristina Clark’s students at Oakland Heights Elementary School created ornaments based on characters from “Peanuts.” Clark said the project engaged the young readers’ imaginations.

    “Any time you take a piece of literature and add a piece of art to it, it brings it to life,” she said. “And these kids love literature. Of course, that’s what we’re doing – building that love for reading.”

     “It’s an honor to be here,” said Robert Dexter Owens, a student in Betty Campbell’s class at West Hills Elementary School. “I’ve never been to something this big before. It’s really entertaining to see the inside of something this huge. I’ve been here with Boy Scouts before, but I only got to see the outside. The first time I saw it, I was really eager to see the inside.”

    Students in Leslie Carruth’s art class at Lamar School made magnolia decorations to hang on the tree.

    “We just finished doing the Merrehope Christmas tree, which was based on “The Alphabet of Mississippi,” by Laurie Parker,” she said. “So the magnolia stems off of that-it’s a cross between the two.”

    The art project drew rave reviews from student Brandon Driggers.

    “At first I didn’t think it was fun, but by the end it was even funner,” he said.  

    Melody Foy, whose daughter Marley is a third grader at Poplar Springs Elementary School, said the tree was “an awesome idea.”

    “Reading is the most important key to success right now,” she said.

    Bland agreed with Foy on the importance of early literacy.

    “The bottom line is, learning to read by the third grade is very important to our community,” he  said. “Statistically speaking, third grade reading comprehension tells us a lot whether that child is going to go further in their education career. And literacy is fundamental to being a productive citizen.

    “I’m so happy that this school district scored so well on the third grade reading comprehension throughout the entire district. Strong reading and strong literacy mean strong communities.”