Parliament Place Holds Festive Author/Illustrator Night
Parliament Place again this year promoted reading in a very big way by holding Author/Illustrator Night on December 1st. Hundreds of enthusiastic students showed up with their parents for a chance to meet their favorite authors and illustrators. There were close to 35 authors and writers and artists attending. Among the attendees were such notable writers/illustrators as Brian Heinz, Vivian Farrell, Wendy Wax, Ed Clampitt and Robert “Dawg” Fortier.
The evening was the culmination of several days of events organized and facilitated by Michelle Davis, a teacher at the school. Vivian Farrell, the author of “Robert’s Tall Friend,” a book about the Fire Island Light House delighted a 4th grade class room. while Selene Castrovilla visited two 4th grade classes and a 5th grade class as well. Ed Clampitt and Robert “Dawg” Fortier, authors of the “Team Dawg” series which teaches about respect and other socially relevant topics such as bullying, interacted with 2nd graders at an assembly by asking students to write down what respect means to them and to share their ideas with the classes. While a teacher read one of their newest books aloud, Mr. Clampitt and Mr. Fortier showed illustrative pictures to a mesmerized audience.
Students throughout the school were involved in preparing for Author/Illustrator Night with each class adopting an author to read and study, so the children were eagerly looking forward to meeting the authors in person. Each class created a banner to display at the signing table of the “adopted” author and Mrs. Blank, the art teacher, and her students created colorful decorations. With all these banners and decorations, the large room was colorful and festive and furnished a perfect backdrop for the evening. The Student Council, advised by Staci Manning, assisted the authors throughout the evening. Parents were in tow as their excited children led them from table to table to collect signatures of their favorite authors.
Author/Illustrator Night is a big event, especially since there was a dinner reception for the writers and illustrators before the event. The assistance of a myriad of people was needed. The organizer of the event, Mrs. Davis, said, “The assistance of PTA members was invaluable. For instance, Diva Mastronardi and Dawn Wylie were most helpful with obtaining food for the dinner reception. Jill Zwiebel helped get desserts and coffee from Dunkin Donuts and centerpieces from Glo-Dot Florist. Mrs. Prince and Mrs. LoSardo helped with the raffles. Lishele Fioravanti and Jen Picciano helped pick up food, deliver it to the school and serve it to authors. Trish Micara, Dawn Wylie and Melissa Beck cooked. Geri-Ann McNamee donated all paper goods for the night. Laureen Moses took photos. In addition, Mrs. Blank, Mr. Morisie, Mr. Heins, Mrs. Heaney and Mr. Keese, all teachers at Parliament, spent a lot of time putting up the decorations.” All these people were invaluable. And local businesses helped as well such as Nonna Bella, Salpino, Dunkin Donuts, Pizziola, Brooklyn Pizza, Glo-Dot Florist, Oriental Palace and Sushi Express, as well as Mama Sbarro.
It was a community effort with teachers, staff, parents, and the business community all coming together to encourage reading by setting up a venue where young readers could meet many of the authors they admire. The excited looks on the faces of these youngsters made all the work that went into staging the evening well worth the effort. Hats off to Parliament Place once again!
