200 Nights of Reading

Home Reading Club: It’s hard to believe, but On April 13th we will reach 200 nights of reading!   Students and staff will be recognized at our Celebration of Learning assembly on April 27th.

Why is reading for fun important? Here is an excerpt from the International Reading Association position paper on leisure reading:

“Research shows that leisure reading enhances students’ reading comprehension (e.g., Cox & Guthrie, 2001), language (e.g., Krashen, 2004), vocabulary development (e.g., Angelos & McGriff, 2002), general knowledge (e.g., Cunningham & Stanovich, 1998), and empathy for others (e.g., McGinley et al., 1997), as well as their self-confidence as readers, motivation to read throughout their lives, and positive attitudes toward reading (e.g., Allington & McGillFranzen, 2003; Eurydice Network, 2011). The benefits of leisure reading apply to English learners (ELs) who read in English as well as in their native languages.”

You can read more here: http://literacyworldwide.org/docs/default-source/where-we-stand/leisure-reading-position-statement.pdf

 

Pick up your forms any time from the library. Thank you for participating and keep on reading

Reading Club reaches 100 nights!

 On January 3rd we reached 100 nights of reading.  152 students and staff completed 50 and 100 nights of reading and all were recognized at our Celebration of Learning assembly on Jan 22nd. Pick up your forms any time from the library. Thank you for participating and keep on reading!

Let’s celebrate 50 nights of Reading!

On November 14th we reached 50 nights of reading. So far 148 students and staff have handed in their forms!  Our assembly is this Thursday so there is still time to hand in your Reading Club forms and be recognised.  There will be book draws, too! Come and see me in the library any time to ask about the Reading Club and to find a great read! 

Welcome back!

Welcome back to another exciting school year! I hope you all had a wonderful summer and read some great books.  Here is some of the reading I did:

 

The library program has some exciting opportunities in store for your child this year:
• Our curriculum will be promoting the very best of children’s literature to your child with activities designed to help students enjoy the stories even more.
• We will be doing our very best to get (or keep) your children “hooked on reading” by recommending specific reading materials to each individual.
• At each grade level, students will be learning information literacy skills specifically suited to their developmental needs.
• The iPads will continue to be used for learning and exciting new projects!  We have 24 iPads for students to use.
• We have a lot of special events being planned: author visits, DEAR day, book fairs, Literacy Week, the home reading club, and more!
• If you would like to volunteer to help in the library, please let me know. We’d love to have you.

Upcoming Events:

Scholastic Book Fair: Monday, September 21st until thursday, September 24th.  Parent volunteers are needed.  Please see me in the library or look for the sign up sheet on the library bulletin board soon.

Reading Club: Our reading club begins again on September 28th.  Notices will go home the week prior.  I encourage all families to make reading for pleasure a part of your day, every day.

Check out the library blog for more information and updates throughout the year. You can access it from the school website under the library tab or go to: http://goo.gl/PPPXu
Use your smartphone to find us too! (A great app for scanning QR codes is i-nigma)

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Questions? Comments? Please come and see me in the library. I’m looking forward to an exciting year!

Mrs. Araujo
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” Dr. Seuss I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!

Literacy Week 2015 is here!

Literacy week is back!  Tomorrow is our official start and we have lots of fun events planned throughout the week to celebrate literacy.  Our theme for the week is “What is your quest?” We will be reading Aaron Becker’s amazing wordless picture book, Quest. Last year we read his book, Journey, and we are all excited to find out what happens in this sequel.

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On Monday we have our Celebration of Learning Assembly at 9:30am,  First, we will recognize Reading Club and 100 nights of Reading.  Next, Readers’ Theatre plays will be performed by BCSD students and the Staff of South Slope.

On Wednesday we have invited some very special guest readers and ASL storytellers to visit all the classrooms starting at 1pm.

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On Thursday dress up as your favourite character from a book. Here are some fun costumes from last year.

On Friday come back to the gym at 12:15pm for more Readers’ Theatre performed by our leadership students and Drop Everything and Read.

It’s looks like it’s going to be an amazing week.

What is your Quest?  What does literacy mean to you?  I’d love to read your comments below.

Reading Club begins!!!

The Reading Club began October 3rd! Every student and staff member at South Slope/ BCSD is automatically a member of the club.  This year we want to continue to put the focus on community and recognition.

When your child student completes their reading record form, s/he returns the form to school and receives a new form.  Students will be recognized individually on a bulletin board in the school and as a group at our Celebration of Learning assemblies.  Students who complete 250 nights of reading before the end of June will have a book dedicated to themand placed in our school library.

This year our goal continues to be to help kids develop a love of reading and read for fun. “Children who read for pleasure are likely to do significantly better at school than their peers, according to new research from the Institute of Education (IOE).The IOE study, which is believed to be the first to examine the effect of reading for pleasure on cognitive development over time, found that children who read for pleasure made more progress in maths, vocabulary and spelling between the ages of 10 and 16 than those who rarely read.” To read the whole article click here.

We can’t do this without support at home.  Parents can help by encouraging their child to read every night (or be read to) for a minimum of 15 minutes and then sign the reading record form.  Make this a special time for you and your child, talk to them about their reading and model good habits by reading yourself.

Thank you for helping your child develop a lifetime habit of reading!   Please come and see me in the library if you have any questions or comments.

Mrs. Araujo

Teacher-Librarian

Dates:

Start: October 3rd

50 nights November 21

100 nights January 10

150 nights March 1

200 nights April 20

250 nights June 9

Reading club reaches 200 nights tonight!

It’s hard to believe, but we’ve reached 200 nights of reading!  Please bring your forms to the library and pick up your new 250 night forms.  Reading club members will be recognized at our next assembly on April 29th.  Don’t forget that everyone who hands in their form is entered to win in the book draws!

What am I reading tonight?  I bought a new book for the library called The Copernicus Legacy by Tony Abbott.  It’s a thrilling adventure where four children set off around the world to solve a mystery.  I can’t wait to find out what happens next.  My goal is to finish it this weekend so I can bring it to school Monday for one of you!

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The Reading Club needs you!

On February 19th we reached 100 nights of reading.  On Thursday, February 27th we will recognize all the staff and students who have participated in the Reading Club.  We will give away some great book prizes to some lucky winners, too.

Unfortunately, we are down in our number of participants this term.

One of the many reasons we run the Reading Club is to support families.  We want to help families model the importance of reading by making it an essential part of their day. You can help by reading to your child, listening to your child read, or reading yourself while your child is reading.  Make this an enjoyable time of day and let your child choose their own reading materials as much as possible.

Pick up the forms anytime from the library.  It’s never too late to join!

We will reach 200 nights on April 10th.  Everyone who completes 250 nights of reading will be able to place their name in a book in the library.

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Reading Opens Doors!

Last week we celebrated Literacy in a big way at South Slope/BCSD.

It all started with our Celebration of100 Learning assembly on Monday, Jan. 21st. First, we recognized all the staff and students who completed 100 nights of reading in our reading club.

Next, we were treated to three special Readers’ Theatre performances.  BCSD students performed Red Dragon, Red Dragon based on Eric Carle’s Brown Bear, Brown Bear. Leadership students performed a very funny pindexlay called, Claynocchio.  And finally, South Slope staff was very cool in their shades while they performed, Pete the Cat and his Magic Sunglasses.

On Tuesday everyone was invited to dress up as their favourite character from a book.  Can you guess who these staff and students are?

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All week the school participated in Drop Everything and Read times every day.

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On Wednesday, we had special guest readers for every classroom from the Burnaby School district and the community.

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Every classroom all read the book, Journey by Aaron Becker.  Journey is a wordless picture book that invites readers to use their imagination and embark on incredible adventures.  Many classes have displayed their responses in the hallways.

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reading Jan 2014

 

Our theme this week was Reading Opens Doors.  What doors has reading opened for you?  Do you have a favourite book that changed you or took you on an incredible adventure?  I’d love to read your responses here or come and talk to me in the library.

 

150 nights of Reading February 20th

Wow!  150 nights of reading is almost here.  I can hardly believe it.  Please hand in your forms to the library beginning on Thursday and pick up your new 200 night forms.  Students who have completed their forms will be recognized at our Celebration of Learning Assembly on Feb. 28th at 2pm.

What have I read in my latest 50 nights of reading???

There are three books I read recently that are now in our school library.  I highly recommend them all.

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Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin is the companion book to Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, a Newbery Honor Book.  It is part mystery, part folk tale, part fantasy.  School Library Journal described it as “a work that is nothing short of enchanting”.  I recommend this book for students in grades 3-7.

Product Details

Peter Nimble and his Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier is a fantasy, adventure that I couldn’t put down.  According to Quill and Quire, “Auxier’s novel contains plenty of scenes of the sort that make adults squirm with distaste while children wriggle with delight. Magic abounds, but is treated in a matter-of-fact manner, and the informal narrative style, reminiscent of Lemony Snicket, is entertaining”.  I would recommend this book to students in grades 4-7.

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Leisl and Po by Lauren Oliver is another fantasy, complete with ghosts, alchemy and a very wicked stepmother. I was transported to another world as I read this novel and hope that other readers join me.  This book would be a great read aloud by teachers or parents for grades 3 and up.  Older students who like ghost stories could read this on their own.

What have you read lately?  Share your great reads below or come and see me in the library and let me know what books you love.