Every year, the A.I.S. teachers at Harvey C. Fenner Elementary School in Falconer, have the students participate in a statewide reading program called Pick a Reading Partner. The goal of PARP is to encourage families to read together. Studies show that children who read at home are better prepared in school. This year our PARP theme is Idita-Read. We are challenging Fenner students to read 20 minutes a day for 17 days.

During PARP, we have special events that take place during school. Some days involve wearing something special like Crazy Sock Day, Read a T-shirt Day, Crazy Hair Day, Pajama Day and Flashlight Friday, Favorite Color day and Sports Day. Other days, we have fun events taking place at school such as Poem in Your Pocket Day, Book Exchange Day, Schoolwide Drop Everything And Read (DEAR) time and DEAR tag.

In addition, we have special visitors that come to Fenner. Andrea DiMaio, from Dog Speak, came to visit on Jan. 9. She brought her two huskies and a dog sled. The students learned information about the Iditarod and sled dogs. We have other special visitors that will conclude our PARP activities. Members from the Southern Tier Xpress hockey team in Jamestown will be reading an Iditarod themed book to the students.

Students are encouraged to visit their local library during PARP. The librarians have special tickets to give the students and they return them to school for a special coupon from McDonald’s.

The culminating activity, after calculating minutes read by each student, each class, and the entire school, will be an Iditarod themed assembly. Gold, Silver, and Bronze Paw medals will be given to students based on how much they read. These students will also be able to participate in games and relays prepared by Kourtney Ames, the Physical Education teacher at Fenner.

The seventh annual Math Night is also held during PARP. Jon Anderson’s Math Club from the high school prepares games for students in grades K-5. Elementary students come at night to play these games with their parents. Robot cubes and marshmallow catapults are some of the activities that are enjoyed by the students.

A special thanks goes out to the Falconer Elementary PTO, who help with the supplies needed for PARP, McDonald’s, who supply coupons used for PARP, and to everyone reading at home to help their children succeed.