Heroes vs. villains was the theme for this year’s Pick a Reading Partner program at Lockhart Elementary School in the Massapequa School District, which featured seven days of literacy initiatives.
Principal Michael DeLuca said the theme was selected because it connected to this year’s Spotlight musical production of “Descendants.” PARP kicked off on Feb. 6 with an evening event organized by library media specialist Tara Gonzalez. More than 150 students visited the reading stations led by teachers and parent volunteers.
PARP also coincided with the annual Scholastic book fair and a collection drive for the nonprofit organization The Book Fairies. It also featured a visit from author Jen Calonita, who in addition to speaking to all students during an assembly, hosted a writing workshop for fifth graders.
On Feb. 13 and 14, the gymnasium was transformed into a heroes vs. villains reading center. Students could read in large tents resembling castles or in the good and evil forests.
The space was decorated by the PTA and each grade spent an hour there, with about 40 minutes for independent reading time followed by a grade-level bingo game. Throughout PARP, students logged their reading minutes both at home and in school by submitting an online form. The school reached its goal of 50,000 collective reading minutes by Feb. 13, and the progress toward that mark was captured on a Super Mario-themed bulletin board.
Each class also had several mystery readers, as parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles of Lockhart students came in to share stories. Planning for PARP began in November by a committee of 20 teachers and parents.
“We hope students find books that maybe they’ve never read before,” Principal Michael DeLuca said, who added that the goal of PARP is “about getting kids to love to read instead of just being told they have to read.”
