Summer & Reading

We all know how important it is for kids to keep reading during the summer. Mrs. Wright, Ms. Peduzzi, and Mrs. Sheehy are busy putting the finishing touches on the Summer Reading folders that will go home with each student K-Gr3.

Our 4th graders, of course, will be going to Chariho Middle School. To explain the summer reading requirements, one of the CMS librarians, Mrs. Steever, came to our school last week. We had assembled all the 4th graders and teachers and Mrs. Steever went through a step-by-step presentation of rubrics, suggested books, and exactly what students need to have done before the end of August.

The link below goes to the CMS website that has that important material. So, there's no excuse for not know what is expected for the beginning of 5th grade!

http://www.chariho.k12.ri.us/cms-summer-reading

Keep Reading!

Time Flies!

I am surprised and embarrassed to realize the last blog entry was late April! It's been a busy year and now we're just 14 days away from the end of the school year.

This year means it's also the last 14 days of my career as Library Media Specialist. After 15 years at Charlestown School and 3 years at Fishing Cove in North Kingstown, I am retiring. I will miss the children, their families, and the staff at our wonderful school, but it's time. Currently we don't know who your next librarian will be, but I'm certain that person will love this school as much as I do.

But, for now, it's time to view photos from Field Day in the Library - enjoy!

Guest Readers at Our Library

Mrs. Haney with 1Louzon

Mrs. Plante with 2Manchester

Mr. Sullivan "Sully" with 4Beaudry

During Reading Week, we had special Guest Readers who came to read to some of the library classes. I really appreciate all our guests who made time from their busy days to share a book or two with our students.

 Charlestown staff members who read included Mrs. Haney, Office clerk, plus Mr. Sullivan and Mrs. Plante, our custodians. Mrs. Plante shared a favorite folktale from South America, Moon Rope, and read it in Spanish. Students were familiar with the book when I read it to them last fall.

Mr. Louzon with 3Allen

I also invited Chariho School Committee representatives from Charlestown and was happy when  Mr. Louzon gave his time to come. In fact, Mr. Louzon read to two classes on two different days!

It was fun for all and, again, much appreciation to our Guest Readers - thanks!

"Wonder"ful 2nd Grade!

Have a look at the very full table of "Wonders" brought in by some of our 2nd graders during March. It includes:

• two birds' nests
• a shell from a horseshoe crab
• a small, preserved shark
• obsidian (black rock)
• deer antlers
• two samples of fools' gold (pyrite)
• a red rock
• coral
• a preserved scorpion (souvenir from Arizona)
• many, many crystals. 

And . . . some of the items brought in earlier March have already gone home - Wow!

We also started designating 3 zones -

• Green = you may touch gently and pick up carefully
• Yellow = you may touch gently but do not pick-up or more
• Red = Do not touch

The students get to choose which zone they want for their "treasure" and it's impressive how others respect the zones. Students love seeing all these "wonder"ful things from nature.

Now - next week is April and it's time for 1st Grade!

Kindergarteners Reading

This scene takes place many times a day in our library, but somehow this one caught my eye. Students from Mrs. Hershman and Mrs. Alston's class are deep into reading and looking at the books they just checked out. My librarian's heart is warmed at the sight!

The Kindergarten students continue their progress in becoming more independent in the library. First they began checking out books in October. Then we began assigned seats and taking turns at the beanbags. Other smaller steps came with using a bookmark from our scrap paper mug and also  finding books in the Early Reader section. This week we even removed the numbers from the tables!

The big step came in January when they began selecting books from the shelves rather than just choosing from the ones displayed on the top of the bookshelves. This came after lessons about how books have their own special "address" in the library and if they get put in another place, they are "lost"! They learned to use a "shelf marker" to help them put back a book in case they decide against checking it out.

This may seem slow and too methodical, I'm a strong believer in establishing routines, and having structures that help everyone get off to a good start. Our Kindergarten students have the strong foundation that will help them become more and more independent users of the library.

"Wonders" of 4th Grade

This photo shows the latest contributions from 4th graders to our Wonder Table. In the background is a framed snakeskin from a rattlesnake, courtesy of Jason. In front, the basket holds a mystery object. It came from  Hunter who brought it in to his classroom and Mrs. Fee suggested it for the Wonder Table. Hunter says it came from a beach in Florida and he thinks it might be a fossil conch shell. We really don't know yet and hope an expert can help.


This "mystery from the sea" is an object that can be handled gently to help us observe and try to make informed guesses. When a few children told me to "just google it" we discussed how Google is great for some information, but how it would be difficult to identify this object in our Library. So, if you know someone who might be able to figure it out, we would be happy to have them come by the Library and have a look at this mystery!

January got off to a great start with our first student "Wonder" - a sand dollar that was brought by Jacob. I was so happy when Jacob came the next day after hearing about how students could bring in their treasures. He got us off to a great start with interested students eager to see something from a 4th grader. Our next 4th grade contribution, an alligator head brought in by Norah, was another popular item on the Wonder Table.  I am thrilled to see students so interested in our natural world - it's a Wonder!

Here We Are - 2013

    No picture this time, but I want to note a couple of blog items for December and our new year.

December - The Gingerbread Book Sale and donations had a remarkable last-day (12/21/12) outpouring of generosity and we were able to give over $344 to help local community families. So much appreciation goes to everyone who supported this effort in any way - buying books, donations of money, or just a friendly smile. Our Charlestown School community is such a caring, connected group of adults and children and it's a privilege to be a part of it.

Now - 2013  - The Wonder Table has often been the topic of this blog in the last year and a half. A few students have added to my own contributions when they wanted to display a "wondrous" item for others to see. In an effort to allow others, a schedule has been established for kids to bring in nature items for the Wonder Table if they want ( this is not mandatory!). I also suggest students ask their parent/guardian before bringing something to display. Here's the schedule:
January - 4th graders
February - 3rd graders
March - 2nd graders
April - 1st graders
May - Kindergartners

I announced this format last Thursday to our 4th graders who also took home the information paper. It was such a thrill when Jake, a 4th grader in Mrs. Fee's class, came to the Library on Friday morning with a beautiful sand dollar he found in Florida. A great start to 2013!