Back to School...Again!

     It's been a busy start to our school year, with a new reading series and all 4th and 5th grade students getting iPads.  Can you believe we are already doing our first round of MAP testing?  Mrs. Anderson has been busily working on the first group of new books, so they will be ready to check out on Thursday, September 19.  I am concentrating on planning for my classes, trying to make sure we hit all the standards we need to cover.
     Meanwhile, the calendar marches relentlessly on.  Soon, we will be having conferences, and our first book fair will run at the same time.  Mark your calendars:  the fair will be open for sure on Tuesday, October 8 and Thursday October 10 from 3:30 to 6:30, then on Friday, October 11 from 7:30 to 10:00.  We pack up right after that, since the materials need to go back to Scholastic the following week.  I am always in need of book fair volunteers, so give me a call at school (269-2187) and let me know when you can help.  We rely on the fair to purchase things like extra display shelves and classroom incentives.  This fall, I would like to make enough to buy a projector for our stepped room.
     I will have a hard copy newsletter to send home soon with all my online information and an update on what each grade level is doing.  Parents are always welcome in the LMC, so consider this an open invitation to stop in some time and check us out.

School Library Month!

Can you believe it's April already?  I know, the weather doesn't make it seem spring-like, but we are gearing up for summer here in the LMC.  My last book orders of the year are in; inventory has started, and we are celebrating National School Library Month by studying how we are persuaded by media.

Students are starting their study of persuasion by creating their own advertisements -- some print, and some electronic -- promoting school libraries or reading.  We briefly talked about slogans and some visual elements, but for the most part, the students are in discovery mode.  I try really hard not to give too many directions, as I want their creativity to flow.  There are some really good ideas out there!  I can't wait to see what they create.

As a school, there will be some trivia activities, a bookmark contest, and of course, a Drop Everything and Read moment.  It should be fun, and fast, and we will be entering May before we know it!

Events Update

Just thought I'd take a few minutes and bring everyone up to date on the progress of any LMC events.

1. Battle of the Books is officially over.  More than a dozen students managed to stick with the weekly meetings, giving up recess to talk about the books and take practice tests.  Toby M., Carson H., Carson O., Nathan M. and Mackenzie N.  snagged the spots as the state battle team and earned 171 points on the state test.  Not bad, but we already have plans to do better next year.
2. Believe it or not, the spring book fair is right around the corner!  The fair will run during conferences the week of March 11.  We stay open in the evenings on Tuesday and Thursday; other times can be arranged with me, as they depend on my teaching schedule.  We will use some of the proceeds to buy books for the preschool this year, so please stop in.
3. Read Across America and World Read Aloud day are fast approaching.  We will be sponsoring a Seuss trivia contest for classes to participate in, making sure teachers have a couple of Seuss books for read alouds, and asking students to create some 3-dimensional, futuristic readers for display in the LMC.  Packets will go out to classroom teachers by Wednesday.  Prizes awarded will be certificates to spend at the book fair.

That should be enough to keep us busy until the snow starts to melt!