Staff photo by Hannah LaClaire A student cheers for her classmates during the Read Across America assembly Friday

NASHUA – Every time a name was announced in the Dr. Crisp Elementary School gymnasium identifying each class’s top reader, the rest of the students would scream, cheer, high five and applaud.

“Reading is so fun!” one student told third grade teacher Ashlee Cataldo.

It is every elementary school teacher’s dream come true.

“We want to empower students to have a passion for reading,” Cataldo said.

Staff photo by Hannah LaClaire Isaiah Arias (left), Logan Ward, Angelia Johnson and Abigail Lerma, third grade students and top readers in Ashlee Cataldo's class.

Cataldo and Maureen Decker, a Title I teacher organized “Read Across America week” at the school, a national week-long celebration of reading. The week usually coincides with Dr. Suess’s birthday, but this year the Nashua School District was on break.

There were prizes for top readers, best door decoration and for students who participated in every themed day (like wacky Wednesday or pajama day).

The students really went wild celebrating fourth grade students: over the course of the year, the whole class of around 60 students has read 1,416 books Cataldo said.

Staff photo by Hannah LaClaire Hands all across the room shot up when students were asked if they had fun reading lots of books this week

Staff photo by Hannah LaClaire A student accepting her prize bag for being the top reader in her class