LEEDS — Making good on her promise to students, Leeds Central School Principal Shannon Bartash donned red lipstick and puckered her lips to give Pete the piglet three kisses Thursday after the school met her challenge of reading 1,000 books within 14 school days before April vacation.

Bartash entered the gymnasium with her head held high wearing a tiara, dress, shawl and heels, as any queen would, to the roughly 200 students making instrument noises pretending to be a royal orchestra.

Before the pig-kissing festivities, Bartash read the book “A Pig Parade is a Bad Idea.” When she asked students if a pig parade is a good idea, students shouted “no it’s not.” And when she said that pigs have horrible taste in music, as the book reads, one student shouted, “I don’t believe that.”

Then the pig shenanigans commenced.

Though the almost 8-week-old piglet was a bit shy at first, he was a good sport, hoisting himself on the side his crate to take the treat from Bartash’s hand so she could give him a smooch. Pete the piglet was brought to the school by owner Shelby Varney of Shermirley Farm in Turner.

Shelby Varney grabs Pete the piglet out of her car Thursday at Leeds Central School. Varney of Shermirley Farm in Turner brought Pete to the school for school Principal Shannan Bartash to kiss during an assembly. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Students squealed with delight as they watched her, maintaining as much composure as elementary-age students were capable of in the presence of a baby farm animal. The school was decorated with little paper piglets representing each book that students read. As of Wednesday, the students had read 1,078 books, according to Bartash.

“It’s good for the kids to have some fun and get back into all the fun stuff that school is,” she said.

The challenge was born when Miss Maine 2023, Veronica Druchniak, visited the school and read the children’s book “Our Principal Promised to Kiss a Pig,” Bartash said. Druchniak asked if the students would like to see Bartash kiss a pig. The students had 14 school days to meet the challenge. They were expected to read books that teachers thought were appropriate to their reading level.

Bartash found that the students who struggle to read and those who do not struggle to read both were determined to make her kiss a pig, she said. It turned out to be a big motivation for students to read.

Most students rose to the challenge, even those who do not like reading. Karter Parker, 10, is one of those students who does not enjoy reading, but through the challenge he read many books and found one particular series he enjoyed most, he said.

He read many of the “Who Would Win?” books, which considers which of two given animals would win in a fight, such as a velociraptor and T. rex, he said.

The fifth grader’s parents did not quite believe him when he told them that their principal was going to kiss a pig, he said. He is already strategizing new challenges for his principal.

Leeds Central School Principal Shannan Bartash reads the book “A Pig Parade is a Terrible Idea” to students Thursday during an assembly at the school. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Each morning updates were announced over the school’s loud speaker stating how many books had been read, fifth grade teacher Sarah McLellan said. That alone made the challenge fun for students. Karter, who is McLellan’s student, read eight books in the last two days alone. The challenge has inspired many kids in her class to read who would not otherwise do so.

“This is something that makes our school special, how we try to engage the kids to read in motivating and fun ways,” she said.

Leeds Central School Principal Shannan Bartash kissed a pig Thursday during the Leeds Central School’s Pig Kissing Assembly at the school. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

At the beginning of each school year, McLellan has students set a goal of how many books they want to read collectively as a class during the school year, she said. This year they set a goal of 600 books, but progress toward the goal seemed to stall when they hit 500 books.

The challenge renewed her students’ motivation and they read about 125 books during the challenge, exceeding their goal, she said.

The more time students spend reading the more successful they are at learning to read, she said.

McLellan herself has a passion for reading and enjoys seeing the kids develop that passion as well. “For me, it’s been wonderful to see kids get on board with that.”

The new principal, who started last October, was already hearing ideas from students for new challenges, which she is considering. “If it gets them reading and gets them excited, we’ll have fun with it and hopefully improve their reading,” she said.

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