It was a Family Fun Night hosted by Bridgeport Elementary and organized by the parent/teacher organization Sept. 24, where parents and children gathered around board games, with friends joining in. The evening coincided with a Scholastic book fair Sept. 24-26. Young students were excited to peruse the selection.
PTO president Jennifer Syrylo said they wanted to spark a love of reading.
“We put together the book fair. We do it once a year for the kids to come and shop and hopefully get them interested in reading or keep them interested in reading.”
The Family Fun Night itself offered a chance for families to socialize around some fun activities.
“This is our second annual Family Fun Night, and so we invite families to come and play board games and shop the book fair together as a family so that they can make good book purchases together.”
She said last year’s family fun night had 30-40 families and considerable participation through the book fair.
“Normally over our three days of the book fair, we probably have at least 75 percent of students in pre-K through eighth grade come and shop the fair.”
There were books for elementary-age children and older on offer.
“We have a great selection,” she said. “There seems to be something here for everybody.”
She also pointed out a wide selection of books $5 and under.
“Hopefully students of all financial status will be able to purchase a book.”
Syrylo noted the importance of giving children an early start in reading early, adding she began reading with her children when they were very young.
“They both have a love of reading now, so I think reading is very important to children of all ages and we’re happy to be able to provide this to our families at Bridgeport.”
Syrylo said Family Fun Night boasted a choice of fun activities.
“We have more games this year for families to play, so if they don’t have games to bring, we have games for them.”
Ten students would win $20 gift certificates to use at the book fair.
Parents can also make donations to the PTO’s Share the Fair to help families with underprivileged children buy some books.
Syrylo said the PTO makes no money from the book fair. Proceeds are split with the Scholastic Corporation and the PTO receives half in Scholastic Dollars, which they give to teachers to buy books for their classrooms.
“This year our teachers in pre-K through eighth grade are getting $100 each.”
PTO vice president and preschool teacher Jennifer Ciroli sees this as a good chance for students to spend some time off tablets and electronics.
“I look forward to this every year as a teacher, just because I’m always looking to fill my classroom library,” she said. “It’s always nice to get a new selection of books for the kids”
She said her preschoolers have been eager to see the new books.
“They’re really excited about coming here and talking with families.”
Afterward, Elementary Principal Kamaron Sabinski said the night and the book fair were both successful.
“The students absolutely love the book fair.”
Roger McDiffitt of the Bridgeport area was at the Family Fun Night with his children.
“We live in the community and just thought it would be a great night to come out and spend some time with the kids and get a couple of books, especially with the school’s reading program. My son’s already gone through so many that he needed a new one.”
Cheryl Burch of Mount Pleasant is another parent. She was happy to see the children enjoying reading and a night of playing games with friends.
“This is a good book fair. I think book fairs are really important because it does help the kids get excited about reading, which is such an important part all throughout school,” she said.
Levi Throckmorton of Shadyside has two children who go to Bridgeport.
“It’s great. I think it gets the kids and the parents good connections. I think it’s a great thing for the kids to get out and have time with their family but also have time for their friends,” he said. “A lot of kids do like to read now, especially being back in school, it kind of catches their interest.”
He was very impressed with the Bridgeport Exempted Village School District.
“I just think what Bridgeport does is real great,” he said “They’ve got a good program here, so the more people that get involved, the better.”
Michael Minder and Molly Minder of the Bridgeport area are two other parents spending some time with their children at the Family Fun Night.
“We usually try to come to it every year,” Michael Minder said.
Molly Minder agreed, adding they like to support the school.
“We love shopping the book fair. We read books every night before bed. We definitely enjoy coming to get new books and think that the PTO puts on a good job doing everything to provide this,” she said. “We’re big readers in our house. We really believe in that. It’s a good fundamental and the school really supports that.”
The PTO can be found on Facebook. More information is on the school district’s web site, https://www.bridgeportschools.net/PTO.aspx.
