Hello, Parents!

We have just completed our first month of the Academy for Reading Progress (A.R.P.) program. The High School National Honor Society students have been trained and we have put together the following schedule.

On Tuesday Evenings, the library will be open for book check out (5:00 PM to 7:00 PM) and the NHS students will be there to practice good reading circle techniques. As a parent, you may watch what they are doing or you may read with your child and help your child select appropriate age-level books. We have planned drawings and prizes for those who attend these sessions. Later in the year we will include research skills (including: library skills and online skills) in these evening classes. .

Saturday Mornings from 9:00 to 11:30, Cindy Rivers, our reading specialist, will be in the Elementary Library and she is planning "mystery" readers (all the way to the Governor) who will either read stories in person or submit videos on which they read stories. The idea is to get heroes who read to Arp Elementary Students.

Once a month -- the second being this Monday's PTO meeting, I will pass out   Parent Reading Kits. These kits are to assist parents in working with their children to build excellent early reading habits. We are calling these monthly sessions A.R.P. Reading Clinics. We will also have a short video to view this Monday evening on how parents can assist their children's reading progress. A parent who attends all 5 of these clinics will be given an Academy for Reading Progress certificate, and the opportunity to check out a computer & modem to access the online "Reading Modules".  A parent's participation will gain their children extra points in their "home" classroom. These points are also collected from attending the Tues, Thurs, Sat Library times, volunteering for reading in the classroom as "Nannies & Pappies" and logging Drop Everything And Read (D.E.A.R.) time at home. We have prizes planned for classrooms that gain the most points during each six weeks.

We have begun to place Reading Modules up on our Website. The first one is just going up. These Reading Modules are called 6 Phase lessons. There are vocabulary words, a reading assignment, a writing or thinking assignment, pre & posttest, Parent Facilitator Notes, and Enrichment activities. Students who complete these assignments will also gain their "home" room extra points.  But more than that...these exercises are geared to be facilitated by parents and to keep parents involved in their child's learning progress. We are making these modules fun and we hope they encourage extended learning time at home as well as enhancing the families understanding of Arp Elementary's educational processes -- including technology applications.

Please feel free to contact me at any time with any questions. We are looking forward to a great school year!