BY KURT BACKSCHEIDER | KBACKSCHEIDER@COMMUNITYPRESS.COM
(Community Press - Friday, September 21, 2007)
PRICE HILL - Cameron Kelley just couldn't let his younger brother, Holden, have the upper hand.
So, he put his nose in as many books as he could, and joined his brother as a member of 1,000 point club in the Accelerated Reader program at Holy Family School.
Holden, a sixth-grader, achieved the milestone last school year, and Cameron, an eighth-grader, found out he surpassed 1,000 points on Monday, Sept. 24.
"I did my own little happy dance," Cameron said.
Accelerated Reader is a program at Holy Family encouraging students to read. Students read certain books designated with point values, and then take a computer quiz testing their comprehension of the story.
Cameron said when a student passes the computer quiz they earn the points assigned to that book, and the point values increase with the difficulty of the book. For example, some of the Harry Potter books he's read are worth more than 70 points each.
He said he thought he was approaching the 1,000 points mark,
Cameron Kelley, an eighth-grader at Holy Family School, is the newest member of the 1,000 point club at his school. Kelley found out Monday, Sept. 24, that he racked up more than 1,000 points in the Accelerated Reader program at Holy Family. His younger brother, Holden, reached the 1,000 point club last school year.
but he wasn't sure where he stood. He stayed in the library a couple minutes longer after his class was dismissed to satisfy his curiosity.
"I checked the computer, and it turned out I had 1,034.4 points," he said.
"At lunch I walked up to Holden and said, 'I,000 point club.' He chimed in that he was still ahead of me in points, so I can't tease him yet."
While he knows his younger brother will always be able to claim he was the first Kelley boy to reach 1,000 points, Cameron said he still plans to keep reading and wants to finish the school year with more points than Holden.
Their father, Deron Kelley, said his sons have always pushed each other to do better, whether it's in school or on the baseball diamond.
"There is constant competition between all five of them," he said. "But Cameron and Holden have perfected the art of one-upping each other."
A little healthy competition between the brothers doesn't seem to harm them. Not only are they tearing through the Accelerated Reader program, but Deron Kelley said all five of his sons are straight A students and talented athletes as well.
"They never stop," he said. "It never ceases to amaze me."
Last year Holden was able to be principal for the day as a reward for reaching the 1,000 point club, and Cameron will also get to run the school for a day sometime this school year.
"It's the continuation of the Kelley dynasty," Cameron said.