Last week the library was transformed into the Scholastic Book Fair. We raised over $1000 in books for the school library and had lots of fun. Thank you to all the volunteers, parents and staff, who made the fair possible.
Writing to authors in Kindergarten!
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, the Kindergarten classes have been reading books by Canadian author, Genevieve Cote. Division 9 and 10 each wrote her a letter telling her how much we enjoyed reading her books. They also created some drawings inspired by her books.
We can’t wait to hear back from her. Stay tuned!
A busy week in the library!
It has been a busy week in the library! Here are some of the things we’ve been up to.
Divisions 5,6,7,8 and 17 are well into their Canadian Picture Book of the Year project. We are reading all five of the books nominated for the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book award and then voting for our favourite. So far we have read How To by Julie Morstad, Fox and Squirrel Make a Friend by Ruth Ohi, and this week we read My Name is Blessing by Eric Walters and illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes.
My Name is Blessing is a powerful story about a boy author, Eric Walters, met while visiting Kenya. The students were moved by this true story of an orphan with a disability, and shared that, while some parts of the story were very sad, they thought it was beautiful.
The Kindergarten students have also been reading a Canadian author, Genevieve Cote. The students have really enjoyed the characters of Pig and Bunny in one of her series.
We have written letters to Genevieve Cote and will wait patiently and hopefully for a reply.
Finally, Divisions 5 and 6 are coming to the computer lab to learn some digital literacy skills. They have learned how to log on, add tools to their desktop, bookmark a website and navigate some online story web sites. They were hard at work this week listening to stories online on Tumblebooks and had fun at the same time!
Happy Halloween!
Well, it was another exciting Halloween at South Slope/ BCSD. Today reminded me of how much I love my job and working at this school. We had the primary costume parade in the gym, the haunted house, the intermediate dance and more.
it was also a fun week in the library with lots of great read alouds. Here are some of the fantastic books we read this week.
Happy Halloween!
DEAR Day 2014
Today we joined thousands of students in Burnaby and across the province as we participated in Drop Everything And Read day. This event is sponsored by the BC Teacher Librarians association “because the love of reading is a beautiful, valuable, lifelong habit that everyone should enjoy, every day.”
Here is what it looked like today at our school from 12:15-12:35. Some classes even read for longer. Don’t forget to enjoy reading every day. Reading is a beautiful thing!
New books and more
This week we’ve been busy in the library. We’ve read some new books like Genevieve Cote’s, Starring Me and You, and Ashley Spires’s, The Most Magnificent Thing.
We also released some other new books:
Monday is Drop Everything and Read Day. Our whole school will be reading for 20 minutes or more after lunch. Everyone is invited to wear their pyjamas to make our reading time even cozier.
The kindergartens are ready. Check out these pictures of them reading in the library on Thursday.
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
Awesome authors!
There are two new fantastic graphic novels in the library:
On Sunday night I had the opportunity to listen to the authors, Raina Telgemeier and Kazu Kibuishi, and meet them. It was a fabulous evening and I learned a lot about the creative process. There were so many kids there and they were all excited to meet the authors.
A few things I remember:
- Raina draws everything in a rough draft before she submits it to her editor.
- Kazu writes everything down like a script before he draws.
- “Repetitive practice is the key to sucess.” Kazu
- “Try not to make decisions based on fear.” Kazu
- One of Raina’s favourite books as a kid was Calvin and Hobbes.
- After both author have drawn their comics in ink, they have colourists who add the colour.
Three great things about the night:
- My daughter got to ask Raina a question in front of the whole audience.
- I met Raina Tegelmeier and she knows who I am on Twitter.
- Seeing students and former students at the event.
Can you guess who some of these mystery readers are?
Come see me in the library to check out these new books and more!
Welcome back!
September News from the Library:
Welcome back! I hope everyone had a wonderful summer and read some great books. I know I did! Below are some of the books I read this summer. They will be available to check out very soon.
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 now 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.
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)
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!
I read because it’s beautiful
One of the sessions I attended at the IRA (International Reading Association) Conference a couple of weeks ago was called “The Art of Teaching Reading”. It was presented by Tim Rasinksi, a professor of literacy education at Kent State University. He shared the importance of ensuring our students enjoy reading through song, poetry and more.
One of the poems he shared reminded me that I “read because it’s beautiful”.
Read It Because It’s Beautiful
by Karen Morrow Durica
Somehow a life without poetry seems…
Dismal
Empty
Flat—
Not much.
So each day in my classroom I read…
Sonnets
Haikus
Free verse—
And such.
An observer sat in my room one day…
Noted poem’s title
Evaluated delivery
Recorded “lesson” sequence—
Said dryly: “It seems
There’s no connection curricular-wise…
No anticipatory set
No vocabulary drill
No comprehension query—
Do they know what it means?”
I could have contrived a defense or two, but…
Spirits flowed with peaceful joy
Honesty prevailed
Simple truth explained—
“I read it because it’s beautiful,” I said.
She didn’t quite frown but recalled all the same, “We’ve…
Standards to meet
Timelines to keep
Pages to cover—
Important content to be read.”
I looked from her to my students’ gaze; they…
Had relished the words
Danced with the rhythm
Mused with the meaning—
Were richer in spirit than when we began.
I read it because it was beautiful. And beauty is…
Never superfluous
Never irrelevant
Always needed—
Always in my “lesson” plan.
I would love to hear your responses to this poem. Why do you read?