To the students, parents, and community of Alcoa High School,
This year, we are proud to announce our revamped Alcoa Reads summer reading program. This program is designed to bridge the literacy gap between academic years, increase student engagement in shared reading, and enhance our school culture.
The novel for this year’s Alcoa Reads program is Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins. This engaging novel is a prequel to The Hunger Games, also by Suzanne Collins, which all of our 9th graders read in their English I: College Prep course. The narrative follows a 16-year-old Haymitch Abernathy, who competes in the 50th annual Hunger Games, known as the Quarter Quell. The novel focuses on themes of propaganda, political control, and resistance under tyranny.
A Trailer for the Reads Program can be seen at this link:
All students at Alcoa High School are required to read Sunrise on the Reaping over the course of the summer break. Faculty and staff will also participate in the summer read. A copy of Sunrise on the Reaping will be provided to each student via the AHS Library, thanks to a generous grant from the Alcoa City Schools Foundation. Students will check out the book from the AHS Library in May and return it when they come back from summer break. Replacement costs for the book equal $19.99. We encourage parents and community members to participate in reading as well.
Upon our return to school in July for the 2026-2027 school year, students will take a reading exam. Students must complete their reading by the first day of school, July 17th, 2026, and the exam will take place during an extended advisory period. This exam will cover general comprehension of the narrative and its characters, setting, and major themes. As part of a schoolwide literacy initiative, this exam may be incorporated into course grades across classes, at the teacher's discretion, as an incentive or enrichment measure rather than a core content assessment. Any impact will not exceed 5% of the total course grade. A retake exam will be administered following the fall break for students who wish to improve their scores and for new students who did not receive a book before the end of the school year.
The week following the exam (July 27th-31st), students will participate in an incentive week for fundraising, followed by a school-wide activity where we will host a mock series of games for our students to compete against each other. Competitors will be selected by their advisory groups and allowed to compete with parental permission. The winner(s) will win a grand prize for their advisory class. Finally, in November/December, our student body will take an incentive field trip to see the new film version of Sunrise on the Reaping by Lionsgate.
If you have any questions regarding our Alcoa Reads program, please contact our school librarian, Mrs. Jodi Blair, at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Chad Deal, Ed.D.
Principal
Alcoa High School