Events Planned for 2019

Fall Events in Review

Celebrate Literacy Conference

The Piedmont Area Reading Council hosted our annual fall conference entitled Celebrate Literacy Fall Conference on Saturday, September 29, 2018 at Central Virginia Community College. The keynote speakers were Dr. Wendy Snow and Dr. Angelica Blanchette from Longwood University. They shared information on dyslexia with our attendees.

Following the keynote, attendees were given the opportunity to attend two additional breakout sessions on topics such as multisensory activities for decoding, technology enhanced ELA activities, mentor text lessons, best practices in guided reading, literacy workstations, nonfiction comprehension activities for primary, and diversity in literature. Refreshments were served and door prizes were given out at the end of the conference.

Young Writers Contest

In October, PARC kicked off our annual Young Writers Contest by sharing a detailed contest packet with our area school divisions, private schools and homeschooling families. District level judging occurs in February and at the end of February, regional judging takes place culminating in an awards ceremony featuring our students and guest speaker, Jeri Watts, children’s book author.

Make and Take Event

On November 3rd, the Piedmont Area Reading Council hosted our second professional development activity. It was a Make It and Take It Workshop at the Timbrook Library in Campbell County. At this event, attendees had the opportunity to make seven different activities to use in their classroom to support word study and comprehension.

Ofie T. Rubin Reading Teacher of the Year

Finally, in December, our council selected Melanie Kiger from Tomahawk Elementary School in Campbell County as our nominee for the Ofie T. Rubin Reading Teacher of the Year. Melanie is a fourth grade teacher with 19 years of service. She is completing a degree in reading education at the University of Lynchburg in May 2020.

Upcoming Events:

Disabilities Seminar

On February 19th, PARC will host a third professional development event, a seminar on disabilities with emphasis on dyslexia. A light dinner will be provided starting at 5:30 at the Campbell County Vocational Education Building in Rustburg followed by the presentation from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM. To RSVP for this event, simply fill out THIS FORM. Members (free) Nonmembers ($10.00). Recertification points will be awarded.

VSRA Conference in Norfolk

March 14th to 16th, we will be joining our colleagues for the annual VSRA Conference in Norfolk. Will you be going too? We are looking forward to learning together and bringing back to our schools, new literacy lesson ideas to help our students build reading skills. If you'd like to learn more about all of the great sessions being offered, CLICK HERE. 

Young Writers Recognition Ceremony

PARC will end the year with two more events in April. On April 4th at the Heritage High School Auditorium, we will honor our young writers and their families at this year’s awards ceremony. Judging will take place March 5th at the University of Lynchburg. Schools will be notified of finalists by March 12th, and personal invitations will be sent to all finalists via email to the classroom teacher. In the past, we've mailed out invitations, but we are hoping this gets the news out more quickly so families can set the time aside to attend.

Round Table Planning Session and Idea Exchange

On April 25th at the Lynchburg Public Library Meeting Room, we will host a meeting with all of our district representatives, members, and others interested in plans for the coming year. We will learn the needs of our schools and districts, share what’s working within our schools, and learn about the supports that are needed.  An RSVP form will be shared in early April for this event.

International Projects Opportunity

Finally, we have one last opportunity for our members. Our council works to support literacy locally with our schools and districts, within our state as part of VSRA, and nationally/internationally with ILA. If you have an international project idea you and your class and are currently a member, we'd love to hear your idea. We'll be funding two projects (up to $200 each) and proposals can be submitted with THIS FORM. You might use this project as an opportunity for outreach to international students or in a partnerships with an international school. Use your imagination and complete the simple three question form today! We will announce our winners at the February 19th event.