The Theodore Roosevelt PTA offers many programs for the students in grades K-3 to participate in. Cultural arts and reading programs are the primary focus with health and science also being covered.

In January the PTA held its annual Reflections contest which is a national PTA cultural art program. The theme this year was "Wouldn't it be great if..." Students were invited to express themselves through creative writing, music composition, art or photography. There was a substantial response, with 30 entries in all. Finalists whose entries went onto the Nassau District PTA level include:

Literature: Chelsea Kaplan (grade 3)

Dana Peseri (grade 3)

Devin Pullman (kindergarten)

Music: Suzanne Sommerhalter (grade 3) - two entries

Art: Johnny Izzo (grade 2)

Chelsea Kaplan (grade 3)

Rachel Nuzzolese (kindergarten)

Photography: Marshall Greenberg (grade 2). Marshall won at the district level and his work has gone to the state level.

Laura Savary (grade 2)

Congratulations to all and thanks to Ritta Davantis and Cindy Maloney who chaired this committee.

Every February, the Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School sponsors a week-long international program. To kick off this year's program, the PTA invited Caroline Cole to teach the children about Ellis Island. Her program is called "Let's Write a Book." It provided the children with the understanding that history happens every minute. The second- and third-graders learned new vocabulary and dressed in period costumes. The school was given a map which shows the countries represented by our children. Forty-nine countries were highlighted.

The PTA asked Ester Tollen to revisit the elementary school this year with another one of her wonderful cultural arts programs. Last year the children all participated in creating a tile map of Long Island that is proudly displayed in the main hall of the school building. This year's hands-on activity was a silk screen mural in which all the children helped to create during their art class. Many thanks to Mrs. Bott for her support and guidance during the program.

Last Friday, the PTA invited Sylvester Sanzari, author of The King of Pizza, as a highlight to the Parents as Reading Partners (PARP) program. PARP is a statewide program that encourages parents and caregivers to read with their children at least 15-minutes a day. The purpose of this program is to instill a lifetime reading habit in as many families as possible. The children are asked to record the time they have spent reading on an official Olympics Minutes Log. Look for the total number of minutes read by the Roosevelt Elementary School on our bulletin board at the end of March. Thanks to Judy LeMar, Karin Stainkamp and the entire PARP committee for their endless hours of work. A special thanks to Mrs. Davidson, our librarian, for her continued commitment to this program.

The above are just a few of the activities that the Roosevelt PTA sponsors. Programs still to come are the art, science, and health fairs, the annual third grade square dance and sports night.

The parents work hand-in-hand with administration and faculty to provide a well-rounded elementary school experience for our children. Working together we have all contributed to the success of this program.