On Friday, January 23, more than 270 people gathered at the Putnam Valley Elementary School to celebrate the start of the four-week Parents As Reading Partners (PARP) Program for 2009. PARP is a statewide program designed to foster the love of reading in children by asking parents to set aside 15 minutes daily to read with their children. The evening’s festivities included an ice cream social and a scavenger hunt. Attendees young and old were diligently looking to find their favorite books or characters on the list provided. You could hear the excitement throughout the hallways as students yelled "I love that book!" or "Yes, Dad, there IS a Captain Underpants!"

This year’s program, entitled "Reading Roadtrip," will be cruising at both PVES and Putnam Valley Middle School until late February, with events planned throughout the four weeks. The program’s ultimate aim is helping children become lifelong readers, but the immediate result is to provide an avenue for reading-centered fun, both in school and at home, at a time of year when it is sometimes too cold to go outside. What could be better on a snowy day than cuddling up on the sofa with a good book, a cup of cocoa, and your family around you?

PARP is just one of many Putnam Valley PTA programs that complement and enhance our children’s educational experience.

For more information on PARP visit http://www.nyspta.org/programsAwards/parentsPartners.php.
For more information on the Putnam Valley PTA visit http://www.pvcsd.org/PTA/default.htm.