By Stephanie Avidon, PARP Specialist
Congratulations to Dodge Elementary School PTA (Western Region) for receiving the 2017 NYS PARP Award for their program entitled “Super Dodgers!” Their nine-month program for grades K-4 focused on superheroes and was a continuation from last year’s program. The chairs worked closely with the principal and school librarian to make sure it was a cohesive program and started the planning early. Reading was the primary reason behind each activity/event and they were proud to see their school’s ELA scores increase – a bonus that their program reached their families.
Activities included a Family Literacy Night, where teachers hosted workshops featuring new reading apps, new reading sources and story time; ongoing Book Reviews offering students the opportunity to write and illustrate about the books they read and each month a selection was posted on the Wall of Fame; Scoops & Stories Family Night, and a visit from author Dee Romito who read her book “The BFF Bucket List.”
Students participated in their morning announcements and kick-off assembly and the committee solicited giveaways and prizes from local businesses to keep their cost down. They also incorporated technology using Facebook to pass information along and Google Forms to gather feedback. Their program truly encouraged the love of reading and established lifelong readers! To read more, look for their program in the PARP Toolkit (section 4).
Congratulations to the following Regional PARP Winners:
- Garden City PTA (Nassau Region) – “Blast Off to Reading”
- Huth Road Elementary School PTA (Niagara Region) – “Exploring galaxies of ideas. Launch into a book and read.”
- Perkins School PTA (Genesee Valley Region) – “Start a New Adventure Every Time You Open a Book”
- Rensselaer Park Elementary School PTA (Northeastern Region) – “Reading Road Trip”
- Tamarac Elementary School PTA (Suffolk Region) – “Rock & Read PARP Tour”
Congratulations to all our PARP winners this year!
Hopefully you will consider submitting your PARP program next year and maybe you will be a winner!
For more information about PARP and how to start a PARP program at your school or if you’re looking for new ideas for your annual program, check out the PARP Toolkit.