Pucker up... Principal kisses a PIG

To the strains of "Old McDonald's Farm" and chants of "Kiss the pig! Kiss the pig!," from Bryan Elementary students, Debbie Spaur, Bryan principal, puckers up to kiss a pig held by FFA student Ty Peckman. Spaur had pledged to kiss a pig if all of the students at Bryan Elementary met reading goals for the month of February. --Photos by Ralph Pokorny/Herald-Tribune

"Kiss the pig! Kiss the pig!" the students chanted, as the song, "Old McDonald's Farm" wafted through the cafeteria at Bryan School and Principal Debbie Spaur puckered up in anticipation as the moment of reckoning came closer Friday afternoon.

Spaur, who had pledged to kiss a pig if all of the students at Bryan Elementary met reading goals set for the first three weeks of February, had the day all planned. The students, who had all met the goal of reading or being read to for 100 minutes each week, would be greeted at the door with barnyard music and the day would be capped off by her making good on her pledge to kiss a pig furnished by Everett Wolfe.

As well as reading each week, students collected $1,900 in pledges for the amount of reading they did and Bryan teachers Terra Allen and Shaleen Gordon, whose students raised the most money, dressed as pigs for the day.

Bryan Elementary Principal Debbie Spaur, and Bryan teachers Terra Allen and Shaleen Gordon dance to "Old McDonald's Farm" during an assembly Friday afternoon to fulfill their pledge to dress like pigs and kiss a pig if the students met reading goals during February.

The goals were set with the intention of the students being able to easily complete the challenge.

"The goal is to encourage children to read, or be read to, 100 minutes per week over the three week period," Brandy Duncan, Bryan PTO vice president, said when they kicked off the event.

In addition to reading goals for each there were several related activities that were conducted in the Bryan library.

"They wrote to 19 different authors and a story teller came to the school," Jennifer Ellis said.

Not only did read-a-thon encourage students to read, it also had some side benefits.

"It got my daughter out of bed today to come to school," Karen Cussiman-io said.

She said that reminding her daughter that Friday was the day the Debbie Spaur was going to kiss a pig gave her daughter a good reason to go to school.

Ellis said that one child used the read-a-thon as an excuse to have her mother read to her more.

"You want me to be the reason we didn't meet our goal?" Ellis said the child told her mother, who responded that she had already met the goal.