Reaching the finish line by reading 50,000 additional minutes this month is the goal of Reinhard students, who are celebrating the annual Pick A Reading Partner event. With the impending Olympic winter games televised from South Korea in a few weeks, the theme for this year’s PARP is “We are Reading Champions,” and student reading minutes are adding up quickly, said Principal Patricia Castine.

Sponsored by the PTA, PARP is an annual event, which encourages students to read an additional 15 minutes per day with a partner of choice, making this important life skill not only a school to home connection, but fun and informative as well.

During the three-week period, students are expressing their enthusiasm for reading by wearing school colors (blue and white), jerseys representing their favorite sports teams and patriotic colors (red, white and blue) in support for the U.S. Olympic team. Bellmore Public librarian Miss Debbie will also read some of her favorite books to the students. Other scheduled events include a cultural assembly and a school carnival, in addition to various classroom activities that bolster the students’ reading.