Theresa Dardanell
Students and their parents enjoyed an evening of math, literacy and science activities on February 13, 2018, during Family Education Night at Lewistown Elementary School (LES). After a pizza dinner, provided by the PTA and served by LES staff, families rotated through three stations that were set up in the school.
Preparation for the science fair was the focus in the media center. Staff members, Kim Williams and Dana Byard, were available to help students decide on a project, using Chromebooks for research. Science books displayed on all of the tables were available for checkout. Students and their parents explored online math resources in the computer lab with the help of teacher Emily Mooney.
Chromebooks were set up in the gym for the literacy station, where Literacy Specialist Sarah Flora gave suggestions for online activities for students to access at home. The highlight of the night was the opportunity for the students to read to a therapy dog. Two volunteers from Wags for Hope were on-hand with their READ dogs. Reading Education Assistance Dogs and their owners are specially trained to work with children. These dogs help students by giving them reading practice in a no-pressure environment.
LES Speech Language Pathologist Molly Howser said that Family Education Night is a “great opportunity to build the relationship even stronger between the families and the school, an opportunity for us to come together as a community, and a great way to share the resources we have at the school.” She added that the activities make it fun for the entire family.
Third grade student Olivia Yingling reads to Sparkles with the help of Wags for Hope volunteer, Kristi Wood.
