As Mrs. Kristen Korenoski's 3rd grade class embarked on the Penguins' Reading Champions Challenge, they did so with a big goal in mind: they wanted to win it this year.

On March 7, students were informed that their hard work had paid off. Over an eight-week span, Korenoski's class read for 73,245 minutes, the most of any participating classroom. The Reading Champions Challenge, a reading initiative organized by U.S. Steel and the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation, encourages 3rd grade students to grow their love for reading through an eight-week program. Duquesne City students have participated in the challenge for two years.

The goal of the challenge is to have each student read for 20 minutes a day, the same amount of time in a hockey period. Each class is provided with a set of ten books focused on teamwork, kindness/anti-bullying, hockey and penguins. All of the district's 3rd grade classes participated in the challenge, along with a plethora of other 3rd grade classes in Western Pennsylvania.

“It’s extremely cool to win it. They really put in the hard work and they set the goal themselves. It’s all on them. They were motivated to do it," said Korenoski.

"They kept reading and reading, and I kept supporting that. They wanted to accomplish this together, and to see them do just that is the icing on the cake.”

All of the district's third grade classes were visited by a Penguins Foundation representative, along with Iceburgh, the Penguins' mascot. Students were rewarded with a variety of gifts. Most prominently, Korenoski's class will be hosted in a party suite for the Penguins game on March 11. The class will also receive ‘The Steel Cup’ trophy, customized with their names on it.

Korenoski lauded her class for their love of reading. While she helped provide them with the resources to read and books that met their interests, she gives all the credit to her students.

“I try to keep a variety of books for them in my library, and if I see them gravitating towards something, I try to get more to keep them interested. We also have Epic (digital reading platform) on their iPads, which they love. They can go and choose books that speak to them, or I can assign them books based on what they’re learning at the time," said Korensoki.

"They just have that love for reading, that love for learning. They have that spark, and that has all come together and they just really jumped on board this year. They’re a group of readers.”