Howell Road students, parents celebrate books

Howell Road School celebrated the written word last week, as students and their parents came by after hours for a night devoted to reading.

The PTA hosted a Parents as Reading Partners program on Jan. 25 in the multi-purpose room. PARP is a national PTA program that encourages reading in the home and at school. The theme for this year’s evening event was “Reading is Out of This World.”

“We wanted to open up an event at night where families, especially working families, could come out and celebrate the reading success in our community,” said PTA Co-President Jeanette Wilson.

There was a book fair sponsored by Scholastic Books with hundreds, if not thousands of titles available, Wilson noted. And, she said, there were books for children and adults alike, as the event was designed to encourage reading at all ages. “I hope that they see that reading is very important for our families to do together,” she said of those who attended last week’s event.

There were also guest readers. Numerous students shared books, as did District 13 officials including Board of Education Trustee Jeanne Greco Jacobs and Superintendent Dr. Adrienne Robb-Fund.

Principal Frank Huplosky said there has been two other PARP assemblies at Howell Road in the last month, including a laser show and a presentation by the Cradle of Aviation museum, in which the students got to see a moon rock and spacesuit as well as learn about the importance of reading. Both assemblies tied into the “Out of This World” theme.

Huplosky, who said that last week’s evening program was a partnership between the school and PTA, also wants people to know that reading should be a partnership between students and parents at home, and wanted everyone to leave with a new book.