On November 6, 2019, another edition of Master Reader, an initiative by The Daily Star in association with Igloo Ice Cream, took place at the Pledge Harbor International School in Mawna, Gazipur.

Master Reader aims to encourage students to read daily newspapers and enrich their English language skills, welcomed around 40 students from Classes 5 to 8 in two groups to participate in the school round.

Students of Classes 5 and 6 who made up Group 1 were seated in a classroom. They took part in two activities – a reading competition that was judged based on speed, fluency and engagement, and a crossword puzzle that tested their vocabulary through a word game.

The participants read a randomly selected article from the given issue of SHOUT. Most students read with enthusiasm and flow. For the puzzle, each student was asked to find words taken from that very issue of SHOUT. The Group 1 winner was Ahnaf Wasith from Class 6.

It was evident that the students at Pledge Harbor International School were well versed in the competition as they were seen preparing themselves by spending time reading the day's newspaper well before the event began.

The second half of the programme consisted participating students from Classes 7 and 8 – the Group 2. This group excelled in the activities that was prepared for them.

The students were asked to prepare an extempore speech on the topic "The importance of music in our day to day lives", referring to an article on SHOUT. They were given 10 minutes to prepare their speeches in their notepads; they were later scored on the content of their respective speeches, individual performances and interaction with the jury. This group of students too, participated in a crossword puzzle game.

Najeeba Khandakar, from Class 7 scored the highest total from Group 2 and was announced the winner of the group.

Pledge Harbor International School is a prominent boarding school that focuses on a holistic education with their International Baccalaureate curriculum. The students here performed brilliantly, owing to their daily routine of quality education partnered with extracurricular activities.

The winners will get the opportunity to represent their school in the final round of the competition where they will battle it out with students from other schools to become the Master Reader.