Tim Hicks - Managing Editor

Kiah Morris, far left, tries her hand at juggling.

Tim Hicks - Managing Editor

BES principal Jackie Sease, left, and BES assistant principal Bonne Sapough clown around for their accelerated readers.

Tim Hicks - Managing Editor

Abbigail Sankey swirls up som cotton candy for herself.

Tim Hicks - Managing Editor

Principal Jackie Sease, right, high-fives Carson Anderson as she clowns around.

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Kiah Morris, 12, learns the new talent of juggling as part her reward of being an accelerated reader at Barnwell Elementary School. Allen Black, a juggler and unicyclist, taught juggling while Mark Epperson created balloon animals for some of the 46 sixth graders who were the newest batch of accelerated readers.

To be an accelerated reader, BES students had to meet their individual reading goals and pass quizzes on the books they read. The school holds three accelerated reader programs during the school year, each one with a different theme. This programs theme was circus-related, said BES media specialist Denise Parker.

"The whole purpose of the reading program is to encourage recreational reading," she said.

An added treat for the students this time was seeing BES principal Jackie Sease and BES assistant principal Bonne Sapough clown around - literally - in clown costumes.