First Lady of Georgia Sandra Deal Partners with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® to Celebrate Reading at Peachtree Elementary,Wednesday, February 24

Circus-themed pep rally recognizes third graders who excelled in reading achievements over past two weeks

ATLANTA – Feb. 22, 2016 – In celebration of a two-week Reading with Ringling competition that took place at Peachtree Elementary School, the entire third grade class will receive a special visit from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey^®’s famous clowns for a circus-themed pep rally on Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016.

Most notably, the pep rally will feature Sandra Deal, First Lady of Georgia, who will attend to congratulate the students on their reading accomplishments. Mrs. Deal will read University of Georgia football star Malcolm Mitchell’s popular children’s book, “The Magician’s Hat,” to students during her visit.

Faculty is tallying up the total number of pages read over the past two weeks in order to determine the winning classes. As an incentive, the top three performing third grade classrooms to be announced at the pep rally will be rewarded with a field trip to Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey^® presents Circus XTREME! on Friday, Feb. 26, 2016 at 10:40 a.m. at Infinite Energy Center. Additionally, Ringling Bros. donated 100 circus-themed books to the school library.

What: Reading with Ringling Pep Rally

Where: Peachtree Elementary

            5995 Crooked Creek Road NW

            Norcross, GA 30092

When: Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016 from 10 – 11 a.m.

Visuals:

1.      Mrs. Deal reading Malcolm Mitchell’s “The Magician’s Hat” to 280 third graders

2.      Malcolm Mitchell’s personalized, pre-recorded video congratulating the students

3.      Principal Kara Dutton announcing the three winning classrooms of the Reading with Ringling competition

4.      Ringling performers with a small, special performance, celebrating the winners of the competition

5.      Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey^® presents Circus XTREME! Ringmaster, David Shipman

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey^® presents Circus XTREME! will be at Infinite Energy Center through Feb. 28, 2016. All seats are reserved, and tickets are available at www.InfiniteEnergyCenter.com.

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ABOUT FELD ENTERTAINMENT

Feld Entertainment is the worldwide leader in producing and presenting live touring family entertainment experiences that lift the human spirit and create indelible memories, with 30 million people in attendance at its shows each year. Feld Entertainment’s productions have appeared in more than 75 countries and on six continents to date and include Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey^®, Monster Jam^®, Monster Energy Supercross, Nuclear Cowboyz^®, AMSOIL Arenacross, Disney On Ice Presented by Stonyfield YoKids Organic Yogurt, Disney Live! Presented by Stonyfield YoKids Organic Yogurt and Marvel Universe LIVE!  More information about Feld Entertainment is available online at www.FeldEntertainment.com.

ABOUT READ ACROSS GEORGIA

First Lady of Georgia Sandra Deal launched her “Read Across Georgia” initiative in support of Gov. Nathan Deal’s goal of increasing the percentage of children reading at grade level by the completion of third grade. The governor proclaimed March “Read Across Georgia” month in honor of this initiative.  “Parental activities as simple as reading stories aloud to young children can greatly improve and enhance our students’ reading and literacy skills,” said First Lady Deal. “Georgia children are a precious resource and undoubtedly capable of being the future leaders of our state. We, as parents, teachers and mentors, must take it upon ourselves to ensure that our students are good readers.”  The first lady’s goal is to visit every school district across the state.