Students and staff at Winthrop Avenue School kicked off their Pick a Reading Partner program on Oct. 4 in a magical way. The Winning Stars gathered in the school auditorium where they were introduced to Amore, a Long Island magician who showcased the value of books and the importance of reading with an entertaining performance.

Amore interacted with the third and fourth graders during two assembly periods. Through his highly engaging show, students explored different genres of books, had some laughs and learned a few magic tricks along the way. The goal was to celebrate reading and encourage the students to read an extra 15 minutes a day. If they successfully meet this goal by the end of PARP, Principal Sally Curto promised the students that she will take on a physical challenge.

“The more you read, the better you will be at it,” Mrs. Curto told the students.

The theme of this year’s PARP program is “Reading Olympics.” Throughout the month of October, students will participate in Trivia Tuesday and engage in different Olympic-style challenges each day. This includes partaking in reading challenges such as “read the instructions to a game that you would like to play” and “read the lyrics to your favorite song.” At the end of each week, the students will submit how many minutes they read and continue on their quest of being reading champions.