Bayview Elementary School in West Islip kicks off PARP with Dr. Seuss. PARP is a NYS PTA program and stands for Pick A Reading Partner. The PARP program is designed to promote the love of reading in children and encourages reading partners to read with their children for at least 15 minutes per day. Bayview’s PTA organized two weeks of PARP events for the students to enjoy. The students walked into “Bayviewville” as the school magically transformed into various Dr. Seuss books for PARP: “Cat in The Hat,” “Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?,” “The Grinch,” “The Lorax,” “Horton Hears a Who,” “ABC’s,” “One Fish Two Fish,” “Ten Apples Up on Top,” “Oh, The Places You’ll Go,” “Happy Birthday to You,” “Fox in Socks” and “Green Eggs and Ham.”

“When the kids came into the building and saw the hallway, they lit up with excitement. They looked around with big smiles and in awe,” shared Bayview PTA president, Jennifer Isoldi. “All our teachers kept stopping us to tell us how amazing it all looked.”

Students were invited back to school for a pajama night, and they were treated to an assembly by Turtle Dance Music and had book scavenger hunts and played themed activities. Every student received a PARP packet with a reading log, bookmark, eraser and activity sheets. The grade who logs the most reading wins a pizza party courtesy of the Bayview PTA.