The Tuesday occasion was a celebration of leadership and reading on Literacy Night.

“There are a few big things that we at BCLUW Elementary look forward too and this literacy night is one of them,” said elementary principal Mitch Parker. “The idea behind it is to emphasize a couple of our goals as an elementary school related to leadership and reading – while also providing parents, students and staff members a fun atmosphere. Involving parents in activities with our students helps to make learning a great experience. We want the parents to see things that are important to their children’s education: reading, writing and leadership goals and skills.”

Included in the evening were several activity stations for parents and students to interact in. At one station parents read with their children, and then got to take the book home with the family. Another station had the students and parents playing a Thanksgiving “I Spy” find the pictures game. In a third room the families could play a fun game of picture bingo.

Another game enjoyed by those in attendance was “Would you rather?” In this game the parent asked the child if they would rather — for example — catch a wild turkey by hand or scoop the insides out of a 50-pound pumpkin by hand.

This little one gets help from a family member with her Thankful quit block and poem.

The final activity room had the students and parents coloring a paper Thankful Quilt Block and writing a thankful poem to go with it.

Parker said all of the activities were related to leadership as a whole, and to molding the students into the person they want to be, with the values that they want to have in order to be a leader.

He said that the school has a lot of great sponsors for the Leader in Me Program to keep it going throughout the school year, but that JBS of Marshalltown donated all of the pork for the meal which was a new addition to literacy night as a way of connecting families.

“At the Middle School and High School they have sports and drama where the parents come and support their kids. Here at the elementary this literacy night is a big important event for us to really get the kids excited to be here, and also to get the parents excited to come and spend an evening with their children and teachers in a partnership for education,” Parker concluded.

A father and son read together during BCLUW’s Elementary Leader in Me Literacy Night Nov. 12.

A family reads together during BCLUW Elementary’s literacy night on Tuesday.

A mother and daughter read together during BCLUW’s Elementary Leader in Me Literacy Night Tuesday.