Category: Special Events

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DEAR and more in the library

October was a busy month! We were able to attend some virtual author presentations from the Vancouver Writer’s Festival in the library. Ashley Spires told us all about perserverance and her creative process.  She also read us her new book The Most Magnificent Thing.  Kenneth Oppell read from his new novel, Ghostlight, and shared some scary stories about Toronto.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In October we celebrated Drop Everything and Read Day and Canadian School Library Day on October 24th.  We wore our pajamas and the whole school read after lunch! It was a great way to celebrate literacy in our community.

We also had some book tastings in the library with Division 3 and 4 this month.  Students completed a five course genre menu and “tasted” a variety of books.  They noticed how calm and focussed they were.  They also noticed that they now want to try reading some new genres.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Divisions 1,2,13 and 14 wrote over 60 book reviews this month and posted them to the Destiny Catalogue. Check out reviews of books like Ender’s Game,  Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Song for a Whale and more on Destiny. Just click on the Reviews tab.

We enjoyed some great read alouds for Halloween this year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But I think the favourite was Oliver Jeffers, There is a Ghost in this House. Reading joy! Boo!

 

Happy Halloween everybody! See you in November!

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It’s May, already?!

Wow! Time is flying at South Slope/BCSD.  April was Poetry Month and we had so much fun reading, writing and sharing poems.  We celebrated with a fabulous assembly and Poem in Your Pocket Day.

And now…it’s May! This month in the library we are recognizing and learning about Asian Heritage Month.  There are book displays for students to choose both fiction and non fiction reads about Asian Heritage:

This week several classes also read Eyes that Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho and illustrated by Dung Ho and  My Day with Gong Gong by Sennah Yee and illustrated by Elaine Chen .  Students responded to these books with joy and connection. Watch Joanna Ho read her book by clicking on the cover. And have fun with illustrator Elaine Chen by clicking on My Day with Gong Gong.

Explore our collection of digital resources about Asian Heritage Month including choice boards for primary and intermediate students:

What else is happening in the library this month?

Divisions 15 and 16 are working on their Stop Motion Animation films.  They have been learning how to use the Stop Motion app and creating short films with loose parts from our Story Studio.  This week they presented their final storyboards to the group and received feedback.  Now they will begin to create their films.  Stay tuned for more!

This week we also began our Canadian Picture Book of the Year readings. Each week we will read and respond to a new book.  When we are done, students will vote for their favourite.  Here are the books we will be reading.  Stay tuned for the winner!

Microbits are also in the library.  Grade 6/7 students from South Slope and BCSD have been learning how to write code for these mini computers.  We’ve been having fun learning how to code games like Rock, Paper, Scissors and send messages to each other using the radio.

Stay tuned for updates here and on my Twitter feed @jenparaujo

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And the winner is…

Well, the votes are in and we have chosen our Canadian Picture Book of the Year.  South Slope has selected We found a Hat by Jon Klassen as the winner! 

We chose this book because…

  • The pictures can tell the words and because the eyes of the turtles can make me laugh.
  • The author made unique illustrations because he made the turtles shell patterns different from each other.
  • It makes me feel like that other turtle who wants the hat to tell the truth of why he really wants the hat!
  • The pictures match the words and the pictures tell the story on their own. I also think it is very funny. (I like it very very much!) 
  • It makes me feel happy because it reminds me of my dad since he always wears a hat. 
  • It has powerful words.

In close second place was Town is by the Sea by Joanne Schwartz and pictures by Sydney Smith. 

We chose this book because…

  • It makes me a little sad. I go to the graveyard to visit my grandfather, my father’s father.  He was a miner, too.
  • It reminds me that my town is by the sea.  And it is a peaceful book. 
  • It has unique and creative illustrations.  It makes me remember that I used to live by the sea.
  • I feel that I’m in the book and it repeats. 
  • The pictures make me feel calm.  

We enjoyed reading and talking about the other books as well.  When we were Alone was recently voted a winner in the Governor General Literary Awards. The Snow Knows was named the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book of the Year.  

We look forward to reading more great Canadian picture books next year! 

 

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Thank you!!!!

THANK YOU!!! Thank you to all the parents and families who visited and volunteered at the book fair.  We raised over $1700 in product commission that will be used to buy new resources for our library.  Our next fair will be in February.  See you then!

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Thank you and please return your books!

Last week students visited the library for their last storytime and book exchange of the year.  We read the Thank you book by Mo Willems.  This is the last book in the well loved Elephant and Piggie series.  We will miss Piggie and Gerald, but I’m sure they’ll remain among the most popular of books to check out of the library.  As a response to the book, students were invited to write a thank you to someone on a post it note and put it in the hallway.  We wanted to create a “Thank-o-rama” for all to see!  Come and have a look at some of the wonderful thank you’s that students and staff have written. If you want to leave your own thank you note, you are more than welcome!


As the library begins the inventory process this year it is very helpful to have all books returned.  The due date was June 13th so please check at home if you have any overdue books or maybe even in your desk or classroom.

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Poem in your pocket day

We have celebrating poetry in the library and in the school during the month of April.  Today was a very special day: Poem in your pocket day.  Everyone was invited to put a poem in their pocket to share with someone else.  Today classes shared their poems with each other, their buddy classes and more.

Poem in your pocket

Some classes also went to David Grey Park to share their poems there.  Click here to see a great video on Ms. Shuster’s blog about our day.

We have lots of great poetry books in the library.  Come and check one out any time.  Here are a few of the new books we have that celebrate the great art of poetry.

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Remembrance Day

Please join us at 10:30 am in the gym on Tuesday, November 10th as we remember and reflect in sign, song and spoken word.  Our theme this year is “Peace is in our Hands”.

Please watch and listen to the video below to see our students’ thoughts about peace and hear the voices of the South Slope Choir.

 

On Wednesday, November 11th you can attend the Remembrance Day Ceremony in Burnaby at:

The Royal Canadian Legion Branch #83 – South Burnaby

Parade begins at 10:30 AM from Fire Hall #3, 6511 Marlborough Avenue. Ceremony begins at 11:00 AM.

#Rememberthem

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DEAR Day

October 26, 2015 is the 9th anniversary of the BC Drop Everything and Read (DEAR) challenge. Dear started as a small challenge between school libraries in 2007 and has since grown to involve many participants across the province. The simple, but powerful idea of DEAR is to promote the importance of literacy by having as many students and adults as possible read at the same time on the same day.
Today we celebrated DEAR by reading after lunch for 20 minutes.  Everyone dropped everything and brought their books to the hallways, classrooms, the library and more.  image
The goal for October 26, 2015 is to have EVERYONE in BC put down their work, turn off their computer screens, pick up a book, magazine or newspaper and read for 20 minutes.
Reading is a beautiful thing!