Sneak Peek at This Year's Conference

Our conference is only a few weeks away, and our spots are filling up. We still have room for more though, and you certainly do not want to miss out! 

In case you'd like to know more about what you'll be learning, here is a sneak peek at our session topics:

Keynote Address

We have invited past president and feature VSRA presenter, Cathy Collier, from Chesapeake to speak and share Top 10 literacy practices. She will give her list of look fors in quality literacy instruction. During the break out sessions, she will have a session on teaching writing in the primary grades. She has presented workshops across Virginia, Pennsylvania, and in North Carolina, nationally with the ILA conferences, and is currently on the International Literacy Council board. We are so excited to learn from her, and if you want to get a preview of what Cathy has to offer, you can follow her blog, The WISE Owl.

Breakout Sessions

Word Study for the Primary Grades: This session will include how to get started, organization, teaching ideas, and progress monitoring.  It will be presented by Carla Fedeler, our PARC vice president. If you are curious what Word Study looks like, you can read her latest blog series on word study [here]. Her blog is Comprehension Connection.

Branching Out with Before, During, After Comprehension Ideas: This session will leave your head spinning with ideas. Our presenter, Heather Waild, reading specialist from Chesapeake, Virginia, will share strategies she uses in guided reading to deepen her students' understanding. You can follow Heather's blog, Campfire Curriculum for additional tips and tricks.

Vivacious Vocabulary: One of our local literacy leaders, Gail Brown from Lynchburg College, will be with us to share strategies for expanding student vocabulary. We know from research how vocabulary knowledge reading comprehension and achievement.

Big Kids Need Picture Books Too: Our presenters for this session are a dynamic duo from Bedford County and Hanover County. Melissa Dalton, reading specialist and now TAG teacher will be traveling to us from Richmond and joining Andrea Crawford, our PARC secretary and Bedford County Reading Teacher of the Year to share mentor text lessons using some of the best in children's literature. Mentor Texts are used as exemplars to teach specific comprehension and writing skills. Andrea blogs at This Literacy Life and Melissa blogs at Don't Let the Teacher Stay Up Late.

Meeting the Needs of the Middle School Reader: Kara Byrne, reading specialist and seasoned veteran teacher from Campbell County will share how she ignites reading with her students. We know motivation is a HUGE factor in student reading growth, but with her helpful tips, you will leave feeling energized and ready to share that energy with your kids.

Literacy Work Stations: We are thrilled to welcome another dynamic duo, Crystal Funderburk and Lisa Gunter, literacy coaches from Campbell County. Literacy Work Stations are very big right now, but our presenters will help it become more manageable. Learn about station ideas you can implement without a lot of prep and how to make it all work together.

Door Prizes

Are you excited yet? We have excellent door prizes ready to give out from these wonderful donors. We have decided to revise the door prize distribution since our membership enrollment has not been open long. All PARC members will receive two bonus entries for the drawings. If you come with a friend and bring the postcard that was sent to you, you will receive a bonus ticket, and all attendees receive one entry. We wish all of our attendees good luck and hope that you will visit our sponsor's websites and stores to support them when you're making purchases.

One Year Membership to Reading A to Z ($110 value)

$25.00 Gift Certificate to Givens Books

$25.00 Gift Certificate to Sit Spots

$25 Gift Certificate to Teachers Pay Teachers

Four T-shirts from APlus Images

Show and Tell Apron

One 31 Bag from Sarah Hankinson
Two $10 Teachers Pay Teachers Gift Certificates from TPT

Floral Arrangement from Bloom's Florist

Assorted Sit Spots Gift Set
2-$20.00 Gift Cards from Outback Steakhouse

Beach Bag filled with puzzles and books from Barnes and Noble
Four flashdrives filled with resources from several TPT vendors
$50 TPT Gift Certificate (Store Specific)
Pampered Chef Fruit Infused Water Bottle

How do these sound? 23 winners! That's a 25% chance! We hope that you'll be able to join in, learn with us, and help us kick off a full year of literacy learning in our regions. We have goals for YOUR council, but it's not complete without YOU. 

To Register

If you have questions, please email us a vsrapiedmont@gmail.com. We look forward to meeting you on the 24th!

Sincerely,

The PARC Board