ARLINGTON — Students at Pioneer Elementary are getting the in Olympic spirit.

Second- and third-graders at the Arlington school have been participating in an Olympic reading contest. The competition consists of three teams of students vying for the most books read and reviewed by Feb. 12, when the lighting of the Olympic torch takes place in Vancouver, B.C.

Students are encouraged to turn their one-page book reviews to librarian Carol Bassett, who posts them on pillars in the school library. As of Feb. 4, students from each group had read more than 500 books total.

“I didn’t know how much they’d read or how far they’d get,” Bassett said. “We’ve been saving articles on the Olympics to get the kids going.”

On Feb. 4, students from Beth Trafton’s second-grade class spent time not only checking out library books — the students investigated how many book reviews were posted in the library.

The class, which is paired with third-grade teacher Kristin Sutton’s class, are in the Sumi group. Sumi is an animal spirit and mascot for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

The team with the most book reviews turned in gets a snow cone party.

“It’s really fun to see how excited they are,” Bassett said.