McNamara student part of cast of NYS Emmy Award-nominated TV show heading to award ceremony in NYC
Mastriano, a fifth grader.
A McNamara Elementary School student is headed to New York City this weekend to attend the 66th Annual New York Emmy Awards.
Jampa Mastriano, a fifth-grader, is part of the cast of The Reading League’s “Reading Buddies” show on PBS. Jampa, who is known on the show as “Jampa the Adventurer” appears in every episode of Season 2 of the show.
Reading Buddies is in its third season on PBS. The television series is based on the science of reading and cleverly teaches the underlying components of skillful word reading such as phonological awareness, letter names/sounds and blending sounds to decode words.
The show features a hilarious talking dog named Dusty who, with the help of his best human friend Dott, is learning a new trick – how to read! They are joined by a kazoo-talking, robot assistant named Alphabott, and an adorable cast of human Alphabotteers, including Jampa the Adventurer!
Season 2 of the show was nominated for the NY Emmy and Jampa was selected by the show’s producers to accept the award if the show wins. Jampa said he’s very excited.
“I have a tuxedo,” Jampa said. “It’s matching with my dad.”
Jampa is the son of Maria Mastriano and Ngawang Dhundup. He has used his platform on the show to help spread awareness for Down Syndrome.
Jampa loves to dance, sing and tell jokes. He said he loves seeing himself on the show and he’s made a lot of friends.
“I am so proud of Jampa,” said McNamara Principal Mindy Howard. “He is helping other kids learn how to read on ‘Reading Buddies,’ and he was a great choice to represent the show at the Emmy's this weekend. McNamara students and staff cannot wait to cheer him on!”
The Reading League’s Reading Buddies was nominated for the NY Emmy in the category of Children/Youth (12 and under) short or long form content). The award ceremony will be held Saturday afternoon.
