Two fifth-grade students at Philips Elementary School will be recognized for their voracious reading appetites tonight (Thursday, Nov. 21).

Both students have already read more than 1 million words since the beginning of the school year - and 1 million words is the goal for the entire school year. The “Read A Million Words” campaign is part of the district’s ongoing literacy campaign.

Fifth-grade students Samantha Sanders (1,008,332 words in all) and D-moye Gordon (1,208,982 words in all) will be recognized during the school’s Literacy Night program at the school (6550 E. 21st Ave.). The program begins at 6:30 p.m. and runs until 7:45 p.m. Each student will receive an engraved medal.

“One of the things I’m most proud of is that in order for the students to accomplish this, a collaborative effort was needed,” said principal Charles Babb. “That collaboration included the student and the teacher, of course, but the parents also played a very important role in keeping their students motivated to read at home.”