Carlong Publishers and the Kiwanis Club of South St.Catherine have partnered for over ten years to promote the reading habit among young children with the annual Sand Pebbles Pleasure Series (SPPS) Literacy Competition for children ages 4 to 6 years old. Continuing the tradition, this year’s competition saw more participants with increased interest in reading. 

The competition, named after Carlong’s series of children’s books, welcomed 20 participating basic schools this year, with a total of approximately 60 students. The students competed in several rounds of quiz matches with questions from the Carlong publication Jenny and the General and other books within the Sand Pebbles Pleasure Series.

Bridgeport Basic School, Cedar Grove Basic School and Church of the Holy Spirit Basic School emerged as first place, second place and third place winners respectively, receiving Carlong-branded trophies, medals, exercise books and pencils, book prizes and readers for their schools. Each participating school received various book prizes for its team members and coaches.

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The SPPS Literacy Competition was the brainchild of Carlong’s CEO Lorna Allen, who also serves as one of the Distinguished Lieutenant Governors (DLG) of the Kiwanis Club of South St. Catherine and the Chairman of the club’s Young Children Priority One (YCPO) initiative. The competition, initially called the Read Awhile Competition, was aimed at developing the cognitive skills of basic school children in and around Portmore, St. Catherine and has blossomed into an anticipated educational calendar event for parents and teachers. 

Carlong Publishers encourages the continuation of this initiative as an institution and catalyst in making every child a reader and will remain committed to early childhood education through the provision of high-quality educational material and corporate partnerships that support the reading habit.