Stonewall building dynasty with baseball bookmark winners
Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Monday, January 31, 2011
Gallery (click any photo to view the gallery)
This year's winning design in the "Hit the Books" bookmark contest features a baseball bat leaning against a stack of books.
With a flair for art, older brothers who play baseball and a mom known for her creativity, fourth-grader McKenna Vicini brought strong credentials to the annual “Hit the Books” bookmark design competition.
Her entry – selected from among some 25,000 in Central Kentucky – marked the third time in four years that Stonewall Elementary has produced the overall winner. Jackson Gonzalez, a second-grader at Liberty Elementary, earned honorable mention in the Lexington Legends/Chick-fil-A contest.
“I looked at a couple of pictures online to brainstorm ideas,” McKenna said. “I had a pretty good idea of what I could draw.”
Her bookmark, done in crayon, shows a wooden baseball bat leaning against a stack of books and this advice: “To get a home run, you’ve got to hit the books.” It also incorporates the stamp of the Lexington Legends’ mascot. A couple of years ago, Big L dropped by one of McKenna’s Rookie League games and autographed her baseball cap. She studied the signature and copied it in her bookmark design.
In a surprise announcement Jan. 28 at school, McKenna received a framed “Hit the Books” poster featuring her artwork, a prize pack from the Legends and Chick-fil-A, and a free membership in the Little Legends Kids Club. She also will throw out a ceremonial first pitch at the recently renamed Whitaker Bank Ballpark.
In addition, bookmarks with McKenna’s design will be distributed to students at every school participating in the 11th annual “Hit the Books” campaign, which runs through April 1. The program encourages children to read by offering free baseball tickets as an incentive.
For every book a student reads, his teacher initials his baseball diamond. When the student has all three bases and home plate covered, he can exchange his “Hit the Books” bookmark at the Legends’ box office for two game tickets. The school with the most bookmarks redeemed on its designated night will win a luncheon assembly provided by the Legends and Chick-fil-A.
Erin Kirk, who had last year’s bookmark winner in her fourth-grade class, “made a big deal” of the design contest and the reading challenge, rewarding the kids with stickers along the way. She also used a baseball theme in classroom activities, and after Stonewall’s night at the ballpark last spring, her students wrote about how it would feel to be a baseball player.
Kirsten Coriell, McKenna’s teacher, noted that “Hit the Books” is one of many ways Stonewall promotes reading.
“It really helps get those students who are otherwise uninterested in reading to get involved. It is up to the student to read the four books and get a ‘home run’ in order to gain the reward,” Coriell said.
“If you give them the right books and they enjoy them, you don’t even have to ask them to do it,” she added.