On Tuesday, May 2nd, Borough President James S. Oddo presented awards to this year’s “Readers Are Leaders” Exceptional Readers at the Bernikow JCC.
 
“Readers are Leaders” challenged 4th grade classes in Staten Island’s public, parochial and private schools to read a minimum of six books at grade level or above during the five-week period of February 12th – March 19th. Students then submitted a report on their favorite book that they read during the period. This year, we added a new component to the challenge. Students who participated in the challenge were required to read “Way of the Warrior Kid” by Jocko Willink. Each school picked one Exceptional Reader, who received an award from the Borough President.
 
Since the program was started by then-Councilman Vito Fossella in 1996, 4th graders have read more than 660,000 books for the annual challenge.
 
BP Oddo was joined by author and magician Mike Lane, who performed a magic show and gave out awards to students who read books from his Magic Shop series.
 
“‘Readers Are Leaders’ has helped foster Staten Island children’s love of reading for more than 20 years, and I’m thrilled to continue the ‘Readers Are Leaders’ tradition,” noted BP Oddo. “You read for fun, you read to learn, you read to escape, you read to get better at certain things, and if you want to be a leader, you do well by reading and reading as much as you can. I want to congratulate all of this year’s participants and hope they continue reading and learning.”
 
“Readers Are Leaders” is sponsored by CTV, Barnes and Noble, and the Staten Island Yankees.
 
A full list of winners is below:
Anna Rams, PS 1  
Dominika Sikorjak, PS 3 
Nicholas Randazzo, PS 4 
Patricia Block-Sheehan, PS 8 
Aimy Kapllani, PS 11
Valeria Diaz, PS 19 
John Guastella, PS 23 
Amin Jahaj, PS 26
Asha Rivera, PS 29 
Lisa Trifaro, PS 30 
Naomi Navarria, PS 35 
Edina Durakovic, PS 38 
Crystal Calo, PS 42 
Sade Lind, PS 44 
Eden Tam, PS 48 
Hannah Cruz, PS 50 
Michael Kaganovich, PS 52 
Ella Norato, PS 56 
Javen Marque, PS 57
Jude Greene, PS 65 
Sophia Jin, PS 69 
Omari Onwe, PS 78  
Kayla Rizzo, PS 861 
June Ka, Gateway Academy 
Francesca Albanese, Holy Rosary  
Leila Crisano, Notre Dame 
Nico Puccio, Our Lady of Good Counsel 
Jonathan Jacknow, Our Lady Help of Christians 
Nicolette Mauriello, Our Lady Star of the Sea 
Isabella Jichetti, Sacred Heart 
Alyssa Badillo, St. Adalbert 
Dianna Spagnola, St. Ann
Isabella Mignano, St. Charles 
Emma Branca, St. Clare
Vladyslav Hrytsay, St. Dorothy Academy
Taylor Colella, St. John Villa Academy 
Andrew Lahage, St. Joseph Hill Academy
Thomas Moore, St. Joseph St Thomas   
Sonia Conti, St. Patrick
Rebekah Abraham, St. Rita
Kelly Hutchinson, St. Theresa
 
Magic Shop Readers
First Place: Ethan Stadler, Our Lady Star of the Sea
Second Place: Santina Corso, Our Lady Help of Christians
Third Place: Cameron Esposito, St. Charles, and Chazz Siewert, St. Clare
Honorable Mention: Alexa Hakanson, St. Charles, and Naomi Navarria, PS 35

On Tuesday, February 6th, BP Oddo kicked off this year's "Readers Are Leaders" 4th grade reading challenge at a ceremony at P.S. 1. The Readers Are Leaders Program challenges 4th grade classes in Staten Island's schools to read a minimum of six books at or above grade level during the five-week period of February 12th through March 19th. One "exceptional" reader will be chosen from each school to be recognized at a ceremony in May. Since its inception in 1996, 4th graders have read more than 660,000 books for the annual challenge.
 
At the kickoff, students from P.S. 1 showed off their ballroom dancing skills and got to see a magic show performed by our friend Magician Mike Lane. Any student who reads Mike's book series, "The Magic Shop," and writes a book report about one of the books will be considered for a special prize.
 
In addition, we have added a new component to the challenge this year. Students who participate in the challenge will be required to read "Way of the Warrior Kid" by Jocko Willink. The Borough President's office distributed over 2,200 copies to participating schools throughout the borough.

"We gave copies of 'The Way of the Warrior Kid' books to kids participating in this year's Readers Are Leaders Challenge because we believe in Jocko's message so much," noted BP Oddo at the kickoff.

Check out this special message from Jocko about the challenge:

On Thursday, November 2nd, BP Oddo hosted two events with leadership instructor, former Navy SEAL, and New York Times bestselling author Jocko Willink at the Petrides School.

The first event was the official recognition event for the children who participated in the Borough President’s Summer Reading Challenge, and their families. The evening featured Willink talking to the students who read his book, The Way of the Warrior Kid, taking questions, and motivating the kids to be the best they can be. After Willink’s talk, the NYC Parks Department provided fitness activities for the kids.

The second event was a meet and greet event open to the public, where Willink addressed the crowd for an hour before signing copies of his books. Willink again fielded questions, and discussed topics, such as where he finds his motivation and how he pushes himself to be a leader.

“It was a thrill to observe how many people came out to see Jocko Willink,” said BP Oddo. “I am a fan of his motivational tactics and believe everybody can benefit from his inspirational words on discipline and personal responsibility.”

Over 600 people attended both events. 

Borough President James S. Oddo is pleased to announce that his postponed meet and greet event with Jocko Willink has been rescheduled. The leadership instructor, former Navy SEAL, and author of #1 New York Times bestselling book Extreme Ownership will meet Staten Islanders on Thursday, November 2nd at 8pm at The Petrides School (please note changed location).

The event, which was originally scheduled for today, was postponed due to the death of Commander Seth Stone, Willinks’s “brother” and best friend. Commander Seth Stone was a two time winner of the Silver Star, awarded for his heroic acts in Ramadi, Iraq in 2006. He was most recently assigned to Special Operations Command Pacific in Hawaii, a unit that receives Navy personnel from the Naval Special Warfare Command in San Diego. Commander Stone tragically died in a sky diving accident a couple of weeks ago.
 
“SEAL team members take their responsibilities to one another, in life and death, very seriously indeed. Jocko needed to step up to help Commander Stone’s family and was forced to cancel his appearance on Staten Island, scheduled for October 18. We mourned the loss of this hero and felt for our friend. We respected his continued loyalty and service to his team. We also knew at some time in the future, Jocko would in fact come to Staten Island, and our gathering would be even more poignant and profound. That time is now officially November 2nd,” noted BP Oddo.

Willink is also the author of kids’ book Way of the Warrior Kid, the chosen book for The Borough President’s Summer Reading Challenge. Through the challenge, the Borough President’s office distributed nearly 1,300 copies of the book to 4th graders throughout the borough. Prior to the meet and greet, Willink will be speaking at the official recognition ceremony for the students who participated in the program.

Willink’s newest book, Discipline Equals Freedom, was recently released. This book discusses his strategies and tactics for becoming a stronger individual, both mentally and physically.

“I am really looking forward to meeting the folks out on Staten Island. There is a lot of negativity in the world right now—we see it on the news every day. But there are also a lot of people out there trying to make the world a better place. That’s what I see in this event and in this community of people. They want to take action to improve themselves, their neighborhood, their city, state, and the world. That is inspiring in its own right and I can’t wait to meet them all,” Willink said. 
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Books will be available for purchase at the meet and greet event. Admission is free, but RSVPs are requested due to limited seating capacity. You can find the link to sign up at https://www.statenislandusa.com/jocko.html.