Charlestown School Library

We're Back! - February version

2012-02-09T10:42:00.000-08:00

This week has brought many reminders why we're all here - it's for the kids and all that they bring to our lives. These photos of two Kindergarten students with their "response to literature" pictures make me smile just to look at them. It can ban all those concerns about technology troubles, time constraints, and being pulled in too many directions - at least for a little while.

The mention of technology troubles came first because the last time I wrote a blog posting was back in November. I looked at the date today and realized the last posting was about a week before the big crash. When the district server went down, it meant we had no "OPAC", the online library programs that run our modern libraries. As many know, for over a month we were writing down barcodes to keep track of books. It was a day to celebrate when the Chariho Tech crew got us back and running right before the holiday vacation. We're still recuperating from losing all data between June and December 2011, but it could have been worse, and I'm thrilled to be back in normal routines.

So I hope this explains the lack of blogging and now I hope to get back to weekly postings.
Take care!

More Wondering . . .

2011-11-13T06:10:00.001-08:00

The deer antlers have been very popular. Most children could guess what they were, but our wondering was about how and why the antlers were different. Even our youngest students observed:

one was larger than the other
they were slightly different colors
one was smooth, one was rough

Why the difference between two antlers, both from whitetail deer? Well, these wondrous objects were found near a pond where we walk our dog. My husband found the larger one several years ago and it was already beginning to show signs of decay. The years of being "displayed" on our deck railing have added many more patches of moss and lichens. The smaller set of antlers was found a couple of years ago and has been inside our house, with much less decay.

Some of our students had good observations and showed background knowledge, including:
natural objects will eventually decompose; antlers may be eaten by termites, other insects, and rodents; and "one deer had larger antlers than the other". I love to hear the students' responses and ideas as they wonder - higher order thinking and critical thinking in the real world!

I've learned much after reading some of our library books shown in the photo. Did you know of these differences between antlers and horns? ( I didn't!) -

antlers are temporary, growing each spring and being shed each fall/winter
horns grow from year to year and are permanent (except for Pronghorn antelopes)
horns are made of hard skin and are hollow
antlers are made of solid bone and are not hollow

All of this information came form the book, All About Deer by Jim Arnosky. As our library poster says, "Books Open the Doors to Discovery"!

Book Fair!

2011-10-27T02:30:00.000-07:00

This year is flying and now it's time for our annual Book Fair, October 31-November 5. This fundraiser brings in more than $1,000 and helps fund more library resources for students and faculty. It's also fun!
FYI:

Grades 1-4 shop during their Library Class. Kindergarten students are encouraged to come with their families.

The Book Fair is opens each day from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Two Family Events: Thursday, Nov. 3 from 3:30-7 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 5, 9-12.

Wish Lists for Classrooms are a great way to buy a nice, useful gift for a teacher.

PTO and other volunteers make it happen - thanks!

See you at Book Fair!

The Wonder Table

2011-09-30T09:59:00.001-07:00

One goal of educators is to help and encourage lifelong learning. I know I am essentially a curious person and love to see and learn all sorts of things. We all know that children are born curious about the world around them.

This year the library will have "The Wonder Table" which I hope our students (and teachers - Ms. Miceli!) will enjoy. It will feature something - maybe from the natural world, maybe not - that students may look at and gently touch. The first week will simply be the display; the second week will have the name of the object and a few facts. I introduced it this week (see photo above) and next week we'll find out what it is. Note: some students (and Ms. Miceli!) already knew - that's fine. This isn't a contest or a competition to get the correct answer, but simply a chance to enjoy something we don't always get to experience.

I've wanted to do this for awhile and it all came together when Mrs. Poore managed to get some nice round tables from CHS and have them brought to our school. One table came to the Library and provides a good center for this space. What a great place for The Wonder Table!

The photo features two students from Ms. Miceli's 4th graders who were Friday afternoon Library Helpers. In addition to making deliveries, shutting down computers, and stacking chairs, they got the job of posing for this picture. Thanks, Andrew and Ryan!

Come to Open House. (No spiders allowed!)

2011-09-16T11:51:00.000-07:00

First, I want to issue an invitation for students and families to visit the Library during Open House. I love meeting everyone, new and "old", including "alums" who have a younger sibling at our school. Usually there are a few old books for giveaways and this year won't be any different - so come on down!

One visitor who was not welcome was the Wolf Spider shown in the photo to the left. Some 4th grade boys saw this big creature in the hallway and watched as I gently caught it. Before setting it free in the woods, I snapped the picture with the adult hand showing you just how large it was. Glad that one didn't show up during a Library class!

This week all Grade 1-4 students borrowed a book or two and I hope they're enjoying them (Kindergarten begins borrowing mid-October). In fact, you might recognize the pink paper in the spider photo. That was the important information paper that went home with every student. I encouraged students to have an adult read it because it explains our library program and how to reach me. Even if you didn't read it, I hope to see you at Open House!

September 2011

2011-09-09T11:47:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to all returning students and a hearty Welcome! to all new students from your librarian, Mrs. Reiser-Jones. This is my weekly blog about what's going on in the Library and I hope you like it. Our first week of school went fine; I look forward to Monday when I get to meet the rest of my library classes - Mrs. St. Clair's 1st Grade, Ms. Tetreault's students, and all the Kindergarteners. Only 4th graders checked out books this week; next week Grades 1-3 will be bringing home a library book. Kindergarten students should begin borrowing books in October after we learn all about the library and library class routines.

On a somber note, if your child is asking questions about all the media coverage of September 11th, here are some books I recommend (available here and other libraries) -

A Nation Challenged: A Visual History of 9/11 and Its Aftermath - Young Reader's Edition from The New York Times.

Heroes of 9/11: Ten True Tales by Allan Zullo - chapter book

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein. This winner of the 2004 Caldecott Medal tells the true tale of Philippe Petit who wire-walked between the two towers in 1974. It is an amazing, inspiring story that, at the end, sensitively states, "Now the towers are gone. But in memory, as if imprinted on the sky, the towers are still there . . ."

For now, on this sunny Friday afternoon, let's lift the mood and look forward to a good weekend. More next week!

Visual Literacy

2011-05-29T08:58:00.000-07:00

I hope that author/illustrator David Shannon and Blue Sky Press (c2002) don't mind if I post this photo of the title page of one of my all-time favorite books, Duck on a Bike. Not only is this book great fun, but it's also a perfect example of Visual Literacy. This means the ability to figure out (comprehend) what is going on in a picture. It's an important skill to develop in young children and research shows that being able to understand pictures leads to better text comprehension.

This is a skill that comes easier for some students than others and our instruction promotes "learning to read pictures". In Library, using Duck on a Bike with Kindergarten classes leads the way to Grade 1 library classes when we really concentrate on 3 elements of Visual Thinking Strategies, a questioning strategy developed around art museums but widely used in education. My wording of the 3 questions of VTS to students goes like this:

#1 What's going on in this picture?
#2 What's the evidence for your idea?
#3 Do you see anything else that you notice in the picture?

This seems like a wordy way to read a book but with lots of practice I've learned to seamlessly (I hope!) work it into our enjoyment of a good read-aloud book. In Grade 1 we share many Caldecott Award books and the criteria for the award is "do the pictures help tell the story?" and how illustrations and text work together to tell the story. Visual Literacy - what a fun way to improve comprehension among young children!

For some reason, Duck on a Bike did not win a Caldecott - a grave injustice to me! If you don't know the book, find it at your public library and Enjoy!

Another Beanbag Photo

2011-05-20T13:28:00.000-07:00

As I wrote last week, I can't get too many cute pictures of cute kids on the beanbags with their books. This group is from Mrs. Terluk's p.m. class and they all had big smiles for the camera.

Next week I'll try for a little more "substance", but it's a Friday afternoon in May and the sun came out for the first time this week. Delightful!

Happiness is a warm beanbag and a book!

2011-05-13T13:12:00.000-07:00

I would be content to post photos of kids on the beanbag chairs every week. There's nothing quite like children nestled on the beanbags as they look at their library books. These boys are in Mrs. Terluk's morning Kindergarten class.

There's not much else to say about such happy faces enjoying their BookLook time in the library. Enjoy!

Fun and Fitness

2011-04-29T12:51:00.000-07:00

Who are these royal ladies? See below for the answer!

It's nearly May which means it's time for wwwCharlestownFit program. If you click on the link above, you can go directly to the blog created for this month-long program. Dr. Cathy Moffitt and I have set up the blog to be interactive so families can participate. This means you are very much encouraged to write Comments on how your family is enjoying extra activities - both physical and mental. The Comments will be moderated each day before being posted to the blog so keep checking to see when your comment joins the blog.

The worksheet for recording activities will go home with students on Monday, May 2nd. We meant to send it home today but a snafu means a slight delay. If you have any comments or questions about wwwCharlestownFit, please contact me or Dr. Moffitt (the blog is a great place to do it!)

Speaking of fun, Ms. Miceli, 4th grade teacher, decided to celebrate today's royal wedding with a flair. Not only did she wear a stunning hat, but she brought hats for other colleagues. Check out the photo at the top of our very fancy, very royal teachers!

All Sorts of Books!

2011-04-14T12:30:00.000-07:00

The display shown in the photo is one designed to
help 4th graders who have been assigned to read a
historical fiction book. Even though a library online
catalog is invaluable, sometimes a display or spine
stickers makes browsing and finding much easier.

An important part of being a Library Media Specialist is building and maintaining a collection that supports the many, varying needs of a school. That means books for every reading level as well as books to support all curricula. It means having a Professional Collection for teachers and staff (and parents if they ask!). Of course we must also include audiovisual resources and try to keep up with newer technologies.

Not mentioned above is the ever-important pleasure reading - graphic novels (newer term for comic book novels), magazines, and nonfiction books that cover favorite topics of students. Below you will find my recall of favorite subjects at Charlestown School (listed in Dewey Decimal order!)

Bigfoot, Greek mythology, the Titanic, space, dinosaurs, sharks, snakes, dolphins, wolves, military weapons, dirt bikes/4-wheelers/monster trucks, horses, dogs, cats, Garfield and other comics, arts & crafts, skateboarding, the Red Sox (and a few Yankee fans!), WWII, and Native Americans.

That list made me realize how many favorite topics I did not list, but you get the idea - our kids love to read for pleasure and love to learn!

Reading Week Activities

2011-04-07T12:12:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy Reading Week 2011. Today we had Chariho High School athletes come to read to classes. This has been a favorite since Mrs. Wright arranged the first visit three years ago. Now we hear that all the Chariho elementary schools like the idea and CHS students are kept very busy. The photos above show Mrs. St. Clair's 1st graders listening to Cody Rathbun read a funny story to them. It looks like Cody is having as much fun as the 1st graders!

That storytime also featured Sarah, another CHS student, but my camera decided not to cooperate for more photos. In fact, it even failed when the 1st graders posed with Cody, Sarah, and the Chariho Charger mascot - what a great shot that would have been.

Sometimes we have tech misses and sometimes we get "hits". This week I was able to share a video with a class by using some tricky maneuvering of tech tools. The video was on YouTube - not available at our schools. With the help of Michelle Steever, CMS librarian, I was able to do a file conversion, have the converted file emailed to me, use the VLC software to open it, and finally play the video for the class. It took several tries, but success is sweet!The class was able to enjoy a video version of the book, How My Parents Learned to Eat, by Ina R. Friedman. The story correlated to this class' study of Japan.

It's been fun to see all the different countries studied by various classes. Our library "took on" the entire world with flags and books about geography. Happy Reading Week to all!

Centering

2011-03-25T14:23:00.001-07:00

It's Friday afternoon, soon to be evening. I found myself wondering what to tackle next before going home. No idea for this week's blog had come to me; rather, many ideas had come to me, but which to choose? Current library classes? Two days training on technology? Upcoming Reading Week? (April 4-8th). Even if I chose a topic, what photo can be used this week?

Feeling quite scattered, I looked up and saw the beautiful Clivia flowering on the library windowsill. I inherited this plant when I came to Charlestown in 1998. For years, it just sat by the window, surviving with a little watering, no flowers. I didn't even know what it was, just a bunch of strappy leaves. Finally, I figured out it was a Clivia, read a little, and decided to force the issue. I brought it home and took a kitchen knife to the tangled mass of tuberous roots, cutting away much of the rootball. It went into a new pot with new soil, then back to the library. It has flowered every year since that drastic change, sometimes even twice!

The moral? Change is good? Grow or stagnate? Or maybe it's about deserting the scattered piles of work around me for a few minutes. It wasn't "wake up and smell the flowers", but "wake up, center yourself, and enjoy the beautiful flowers". I hope you enjoy the photo and have a good weekend to center, relax, and regroup.

We're All Winners!

2011-03-16T14:05:00.000-07:00

Kindergarten student, Emma, and her mother joined me this week to celebrate our prizes won at the March 5th Warwick Mall event, NEA Read Across America Day that celebrated the birthday of Dr. Seuss.

That day I was volunteering at the school librarians' table, RIEMA (Rhode Island Educational Media Association). It was a fun time that featured a table for children to make bookmarks plus a raffle. Emma's mother spotted me, came over, and they entered the raffle. The raffle price was two $25 Gift Cards to Barnes & Noble bookstore - one for the student, one for their school library. Raffle entries went into two large Cat in the Hat hats.

At the end of the day there were three entries drawn out of hundreds and guess who won! It was quite a stroke of good luck because Emma was the only Charlestown student I saw that afternoon who entered the raffle. I figured we had little chance with all the Warwick and local students who came by and entered the raffle. What a great surprise to hear that Emma's entry was a winner!

The photo was taken by Bianca, a student in Mrs. Mcgill's 3rd grade - a future photographer? In the photo, Emma's mother is holding the letter announcing our win. I hold the two hardcover books purchased for our library and Emma holds the Cat in the Hat. I heard that Emma bought several books great for kindergarteners and her mother was as thrilled as I was. And . . . because the books may be borrowed by all students and teachers at Charlestown School, we all win!

Current Events-Iditarod and more

2011-03-11T13:28:00.000-08:00

This week Mrs. McGill's class has a special assignment every morning.
They come right to the library to check their musher's current place in the Iditarod sled dog race. Because Mrs. McGill set up a subscription to the Iditarod Insider GPS, they are able to get up-to-date information on the progress of the race. They locate their race team on the map or list, then take turns writing down the mileage. The next step is when they go on to class and do the math to find how many more miles their team has to go until the finish. It's fun, it's interactive, and it's learning.

Regarding another too-current event, as I write this blog entry on Friday afternoon, my heart is saddened by the horrific news coming from Japan and other places devastated by the earthquake and tsunami that struck yesterday. Our technology enables us to be in touch with the rest of the world. I'm sure many share my thoughts and prayers that go the many victims of this terrible disaster.

Wacky Wednesday Pictures

2011-03-04T14:51:00.000-08:00

Not much to say with these photos from our fun and Wacky Wednesday on March 2nd to celebrate the birthday of Dr. Seuss. The pictures tell the story - Enjoy!

Learning is Fun!

2011-02-18T10:44:00.001-08:00

Today I tried a different activity with Mrs. Rathbone's 3rd grade class and we had such a good time. I was thrilled with the way they worked with others at the library computers. They were excited about how well they did on the activity - a win/win situation!

The students had experience with the website on which they "shelve" books according to alphabetical order. We had done the activity using the SMART Board a few weeks ago; at that time they took turns coming up to move the virtual book to the correct alphabetical place on the shelf. Their familiarity with the website and activity made it an easy transition to going to computers on their own, finding the website, and taking turns with a partner. Some of the students even earned the Certificate of Library Assistant printout!

The first photo shows the students busy at work. The second photo features two students, J and E, doing their work with the SMART board computer. They used the touch screen; others used their computer mouse to move the book to the correct place.

Again, besides the academic value of alphabetizing, I was most impressed with their ability to work together. Being able to share computer time, decide on names and levels for the game, and collaborate to figure out the problems - to me that's a goal I hope all our young learners can achieve.

If you're interested in the website, it may be found by googling order in the library or through the URL:
http://users.ece.utexas.edu/~valmstrum/s2s/utopia/library4/src/library4.html

Have a great vacation!

Lifelong Learning

2011-02-11T14:01:00.001-08:00

Okay, so what does a dinosaur fossil have to do with lifelong learning? Well, today when I was working with students I realized I was not sure about how to cite images from the Internet. I know how I think we should do it, but wanted a refresher course. Rather than Google, I turned to the Chariho Middle School website. The Library Media Center link on the CMS homepage is a wealth of information. Not only does it have links to many important resources, but when I know "the way they do it at CMS" then I can hope to help prepare students when they move on to middle school. In fact, I hope to add a link to the CMS Library website onto this blog to give readers a quick way to access those resources.

Well, the dinosaur fossil photo was found using www.pics4learning.com, a good place to begin a search for Internet images. I think the correct way to cite the source is:

http://www.pics4learning.com/details.php?img=monclonius_nasicornis.jpg, Feb. 11, 2011.

The citation shows the URL (website address) of the photo and the date indicates when I copied the image. I hope I got it right! The main message to our elementary students at Charlestown is that they must give credit to others' work. Lessons on copyright and giving credit begin in 2nd grade and the idea is mentioned in 1st grade. To young children, being "fair" and not taking from someone else is a very concrete idea.

The website, pics4learning, did not have my favorite dinosaur, a Triceratops, so I went with a similar herbivore, Monoclonius. If you have a dinosaur fan at home, they may even recognize that one-horned head!

Snow, IPEVO, and PTO: O-O-Oh!

2011-01-26T12:04:00.000-08:00

The photo above was taken with one of our new IPEVO document cameras during yesterday's surprise snow. Of course, I could just snap a photo with the digital camera and save it to my files. However, this is how it happened with the IPEVO -

1. IPEVO was used for a lesson with Ms. Parker's 4th graders to display images from The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg.
2. After the lesson, I pointed the IPEVO at the window to capture the image we were seeing - gently falling snowflakes with the woods as a background.
3. The image was displayed on the SMART Board which made it easy to see the snow crystals and clumps as they fell.
4. We turned off the lights to enjoy the beautiful scene displayed on the SMART Board. One student said it was like having another window - a big window!
5. I clicked the Enter key and bingo! - the picture was saved to a folder created by the IPEVO and placed into my U drive. Now that's service!

As you can see, I'm really excited about the IPEVO which is a cheaper version of other document cameras (for more details & a photo, see my blog from Dec. 10th). Our generous PTO bought six (6!) IPEVO cameras for our school. Four of them went to classrooms with SMART Boards, one to the Library, and the other one is available for teachers to borrow and use with the school LCD projector. Thanks, PTO!

Think + Snow

2011-01-14T06:18:00.001-08:00

Teaching often involves trying to engage students' deeper thinking, or Higher Order Thinking skills. This means going beyond restating or memorizing facts and teaching or questioning to promote an increased level of thinking processes.

The current library bulletin board in the hallway features some information on Wilson Bentley, better known as "Snowflake" Bentley. A Caldecott-winning book, Snowflake Bentley, was written by Jacqueline Briggs Martin and illustrated by Mary Azarian a few years ago; it's still a favorite. The display shows copies of the snowflake photographs made over 100 years ago by Bentley, a remarkable farmer-naturalist who changed the way the world looked at snowflakes. The library display also has newer photos taken more recently and displayed on the website, www.snowcrystals.com.

The first photo is a closer look at part of the display with a question that may encourage deeper thinking. Comparing and contrasting are skills designed to engage thinking. Have a close look at the magnification of the penny and it will help you realize the size of an individual snowflake (the blue insert). I don't know if I even want to think about how many we shoveled at our house this week!

BTW, the official Snowflake Bentley website is a great place to spend some time. Have a look at
www.snowflakebentley.com and enjoy!

Thank-you!

2010-12-17T13:00:00.000-08:00

If you look back to my blog posting of October 15th, it may bring back memories of the visit by Kazu Kibuishi when he did an assembly for our 3rd and 4th graders. He did not have time to do autographs for students but we got something even better!

Kazu sent bookplate stickers with his autograph and the image of either Miskit or Leon to our school recently; enough for each student to have one bookplate. Two of those stickers are shown on the top line of the photo.

Imagine my surprise when I realized he did not simply make copies, but that each sticker was an original sketch! When these stickers were distributed during the last two weeks, the students were quite appreciative. We wanted to do some something special to show our gratitude and Mark, in Mrs. Beaudry's 4th grade class, had the idea that each student could make a sticker for Kazu.

Today we began making them in Mrs. Rathbone's 3rd grade class. I loved seeing the students' original thoughts and drawings and four of them are included in the photo. Mrs. Rathbone's class has many Amulet fans; however, not everyone is crazy about this graphic novel series. One student included a drawing with "I'm not a fan, but thanks!" The rest of the 3rd and 4th grade classes will work on their stickers next week and then I'll be sending them to Kazu Kibuishi in California. I'm sure he will enjoy the students' work as much as we enjoyed his visit.

Finally, a big thank you to everyone who bought one or more Gingerbread Books at PTO's recent Holiday Fair. Today I was able to hand $227 to our social worker who will make sure the cash goes to help a family in need. What a great school community!

More Tech!

2010-12-10T12:41:00.000-08:00

There will soon be more tech equipment coming since the PTO has generously offered to buy six Ipevo document cameras for the school. These cameras, or visual presenters, offer basic functions similar to the better known Elmo cameras. We've had an Elmo for a year or so and it's great. The Ipevo does not do as much and isn't the same level of quality but they're smaller, much cheaper, and they do the job. Thanks, PTO!

In addition, we now have a total of five SMART Boards in our school. The district budget funded these purchases and we're glad to have them get into more classrooms.

Regarding this week's photos:

The first photo shows an Ipevo (on loan from CMS; ours are being ordered) connected to the laptop which is connected to the LCD projector. The Ipevo is focused on a penny.
The second photo shows the projection of the penny when viewed by the document camera and projected onto the SMART Board.
The third photo was taken by the Ipevo and easily stored into my picture file. Can you believe it's so big that the image fills the SMART Board? Wow!

Gingerbread Books

2010-12-03T14:12:00.001-08:00

Perhaps I'll see you tomorrow, Saturday, December 4th, at our PTO's holiday fair. I'll be the one selling nearly-new books for one dollar - yes, that's right - $1.00. These books are donated or are ones I've collected for this annual event. The Gingerbread Books include some great ones for both children and adults and you might get a real bargain.

Most importantly, the cash raised goes to our district Gingerbread Express program to give a little boost to families in our community that may need help. At our school, the program is coordinated by Mrs. Cafaro and Mrs. Connell who make sure the money goes where it can help the most.

Our school community has been very generous in supporting the program. Some people just throw in some money and don't worry about buying a book! In any case, it's a good cause and I hope to see you there.

Collaboration

2010-11-24T12:50:00.001-08:00

It's somewhat fitting that working together in collaboration has been a key element during this holiday week. The photo above shows an assessment project for the Grade 4 science unit on
Soil and Water. Students worked within groups (collaborated) to construct a dam with surrounding materials to utilize what they had learned about water flow, erosion, and much more. It was amazing to hear them use sophisticated terms and concepts as they described their projects. The "final test" of the dam was to pour water and see if it held and whether the surrounding landscape and materials protected the homes. Their assessments included oral and written presentations. Impressive!

I was fortunate to take part in some of the assessments when we decided to show the presentations on the SMART Board in the Library. Ms. Miceli had the idea of using a document camera to capture what was going on so everyone could easily view it. I was able to collaborate in setting up the camera and helping in other ways. Our school has an ELMO document camera/visual presenter so this was a good way to use it. When my library class schedule permits, I really enjoy these opportunities to co-teach with classroom teachers.

As an example of even more collaboration, I borrowed a smaller document camera from Mrs. Steever, librarian at Chariho Middle School, and we used this newer, less expensive camera. Not only did it show the action, but taking photos was easy. What a great little tool! Thanks to Mrs. Steever for bringing this new equipment, Impevo, to my attention and for letting us try it.

You may well be doing plenty of collaboration tomorrow when you enjoy your Thanksgiving dinner - or at least I hope you don't have to do it all yourself. Happy Thanksgiving!

Back to Normal

2010-11-12T13:34:00.000-08:00

Our annual Book Fair ended last Saturday with a "bang" and nearly $1,600 sales for the three hours we were open. So, if you waited in line to checkout at 11:30, now you know it was all for a good cause!

Thank you to everyone who visited, shopped and otherwise supported our Book Fair. The biggest thanks of all go to the wonderful parents and PTO members who helped out during the week's activities. We couldn't do it without you.

All the work and high energy paid off with gross sales of $5,300+ and a profit of over $1,300. This money helps me buy books all year and add other resources for students and staff.

The photo of the week was taken not long ago and shows that our library is "back to normal" after Book Fair. I have often said that I love having the Book Fair come - and I love seeing it go!

Busy, Busy Book Fair

2010-11-04T09:12:00.000-07:00

As we near the end of the week, it's so busy, there's no time to post a good photo! Our Family Event on Election Day, Nov. 2nd, went great with many families coming in to shop with their children. Students have been coming in all week and now we're seeing lots of coins and change to buy "just one more thing". I always wonder if they're searching under their beds to find some more money!

I'll be here Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. and then we have another
Family Event -- Saturday, Nov. 6th from 9 a.m. until 12 noon. Maybe I'll see you!

Book Fair is Next Week!

2010-10-28T08:36:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Louzon's 1st graders were very helpful in helping me get the message out about our annual Book Fair next week. The cases of books have arrived and we'll be setting up Friday afternoon so we're ready to go Monday morning. You should have received the Book Fair flyer, a coral-colored sheet with information, plus the earlier PTO Newsletter which featured us prominantly on the back. As usual, if you still have questions, feel free to email me at cerei@chariho.k12.ri.us

Except for Kindergarten, students shop during their usual library class. Remember that if you want to be with your child to help them shop, you have many options. We are open each school day from 8-4 p.m. Also, there are two Family Events this year - one on election day, Tuesday, November 2nd from 3-7 p.m. The other Family Event is Saturday, November 6th from 9-12 in the morning.

Another way to be with your child as they shop is to volunteer during the library class. At this point, we are still short on volunteers to help staff the Book Fair. I would love to get more of the Volunteer Sign-up forms returned ASAP; it would help me sleep better at night!

Our school runs one Scholastic Book Fair per year and it is a major fundraiser for library resources. Many families appreciate the Classroom Wish Lists which help them choose a useful and much desired book for their child's teacher. We accept cash, credit, and checks (made to Charlestown SAF). This year Scholastic sent the EZ Scanner which promises to make for shorter lines, itemized receipts, and easier sales tracking. I'm looking forward to seeing lots of excited kids at our Book Fair and maybe you, too!

Kazu Kibuishi Visits Charlestown School

2010-10-15T14:18:00.001-07:00

Today was a big day for 3rd & 4th grades. To "reward" everyone for completing the NECAP tests, we enjoyed an assembly by favorite author/illustrator of the Amulet series, Kazu Kibuishi. Beth Desrosier was kind enough to take this photo where I proudly share the drawing Mr. Kibuishi created for our Library.

In order to make this visit happen, there are so many people to thank that I hope I don't forget anyone. The Chariho Middle School librarians Mrs. Steever and Mrs. Caparco graciously helped plan his visit to Charlestown after they hosted him at the CMS ceremony for his Rhode Island Children's Book Award 2010. Cheryl Space from the state, Meagan Lenihan from Lincoln School, and his agent Nancy Caffoe were instrumental in getting plans done with a week's notice. Principal Mrs. Poore was enthusiastic from the start (just two weeks ago!). Teachers adjusted their schedules and many staff members got the room ready and helped with set-up of equipment. Lisa Huzyk and Beth Desrosiers even drove to meet him at CMS to make sure he could fit us into the tight timetable. Finally, PTO generously funded an honorarium so we could enjoy Kazu Kibuishi. Thanks to all!

FYI: We were all so proud of our 3rd and 4th grade students as they listened attentively, asked thoughtful questions, and thoroughly appreciated his appearance. When he demonstrated on his tablet computer how he "paints" using PhotoShop, we were all entranced as the images took form. Then, there was a rising groundswell of polite applause from the kids as they marvelled at the incredible picture that was appearing before their eyes. It was such a moving demonstration of their appreciation that I found myself almost tearing up as the teachers joined in the applause. Wow - our kids are the best!

NECAP Practice Sessions

2010-10-07T13:13:00.000-07:00

Here's a great-looking group of Grade 4 students taking advantage of a special NECAP "ramp-up" session this week. Today's group worked on Math, led by Math Specialist, Mrs. Nedwidek. Another session focused on Reading. Teachers included in the sessions have been Mrs. Wright, Ms. Peduzzi, Mrs. Owren, Ms. Miceli, and myself.

These sessions are a new initiative we're trying this year. As we know, not only do students get tested on content, but they also need to learn test-taking strategies. These students were enthusiastic and engaged as they plotted out answers on the SMART Board. In fact, the other photo shows one student taking a real "hands-on" approach, using the Touch Screen of the SMART Board. Good luck, kids!

Open House Visitors

2010-09-30T08:59:00.001-07:00

Here are two sets of older brother - younger sister kids at our Library during Open House. I appreciate the students' willingness to be photographed and the parents' approval so I could post this great picture. Of course, these four students (two 3rd grade boys, plus girls in K and 1st grade) are only a few of the many, many visitors who came over the two nights of Open House.

I love seeing the Library full of students and their families and having the chance to chat a little. This year I saw many returning parents and some new to our school. Thanks for coming!

Hope to See You at Open House!

2010-09-24T08:38:00.001-07:00

Here's one of the fine looking classes that will have their photograph included in the PowerPoint that will be looping in the Library during Open House. Mrs. Rathbone's 3rd graders were all smiles when they had their first book checkout a couple of weeks ago.

So, if you're new to our school or we've met many times, I'll be happy to see you if you have time to stop in during Open House. If not, I hope to meet you another time. Keep reading!

Good Times in the Library

2010-09-16T11:50:00.000-07:00

These guys look very happy to be taking turns on the beanbag chairs and reading their books during "booklook" time in Library Class. Considering that they are 4th grade boys, I'm thrilled to see them still enjoying these times - they've been coming since Kindergarten!

During Library Class, I feel that students deserve to find a "free-choice" book that they are happy to read. Studies have shown that reading what you want to read is a great incentive to do more reading - and that's so important to all of us. If a child is reading, then it does not have to be a chapter book or other challenging reading each time. I do want to see rigor that encourages them to challenge and grow their reading skills. Also, perhaps they may just discover a new chapter book that really gets them hooked on reading. But my feeling is that we all want some lighter reading sometimes and I hope the library helps our students find their interests.

Confession time - Although I love a good, challenging chapter book, I still love to pick up a magazine and enjoy some less-taxing reading. And . . . as an elementary student many years ago, my favorite reading was comic books. Who would have guessed I would become a librarian?!!!

The Green (or white) Sheet

2010-09-10T05:14:00.000-07:00

Most students, except Kindergarten, began borrowing books this week. Our happy 1st grader in the picture is holding the "green sheet" that should have gone home with every student. Actually, a few of these were printed in white, but we didn't want to waste paper so you might get a white sheet.

Anyway, these Library Information sheets have important information about our library program. It contains a list of the many ways you can contact me - phone, notes, or email (best). Please read it and let me know if you have any questions.

The paper also states "Please stop in during Open House" - I'd love to see you in the Library!

Back in the Library!

2010-09-02T06:07:00.000-07:00

It's September and we're back into the swing of things. The library is staying almost-cool because of the air conditioner to that keeps our "mini-computer lab" in good running order.

Students Grade 1-4 will begin borrowing books next week. Later, in October, our Kindergarten students will bring home a library book. Everyone will have a paper with library facts; please read it so you know important information.

I hope to have weekly blog posts and will be mentioning this blog every chance I get. Since the Internet is part of our lives, this is the best way to get out information and news.

Here's one bit of important news. We have a new
Library Clerk, Nancy Ferri, who will be working at Charlestown on Wednesdays and Fridays. She is at Richmond School Library the other three days. Welcome, Mrs. Ferri!

Almost Summer!

2010-06-17T13:35:00.001-07:00

We're just 23 hours from our official summer vacation and "miles to go before I sleep." So, I want to get this one more blog done for school year 2009-10. The last few weeks have had our heads spinning and it's hard to imagine that tomorrow will give me any more time to do a quick blog.

This year found me writing a blog entry nearly every week and it's been fun. Next year I hope to expand on using this digital communication to broadcast news from our library. Right now Twitter isn't in my future and this will serve me well. I hope readers have enjoyed it.

On Monday the librarians from Cross Mills and Clark Memorial Library spoke to students during lunch about the fantastic Summer Reading Programs they offer. This year the theme is
"Make a Splash - Read!" and I hope the summer finds lots of Charlestown children splashing away. Even if you can't make it to the libraries, be sure to provide your family with a "print-rich" environment so they can keep working on those reading skills. Comics, magazines, whatever ---
Be a SMARTIE - Keep Reading!

Have a wonderful summer!

Learning About Bees

2010-06-11T13:10:00.001-07:00

Bees

Bees

Bees

Bees

Bees

Bees

Today we had a special event in the library with the 2nd grade classrooms who have been learning about insects. Some of the students did extra research on "BEES" and presented their work this morning. After they showed their PowerPoint slides to their classmates and guests, we had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Tom Meade, local beekeeper. Mr. Meade brought some of his protective garb and a display hive with bees. There were plenty of questions for the Grade 2 researchers and for Mr. Meade. We had plenty to learn - did you know that when honeybees are angry they smell like old bananas?

This afternoon Mrs. Pearce made a special delivery of letters written by her students to thank Tom Meade for coming. More letters from Mrs. Rhodes class joined them and I'll be delivering the letters to Mr. Meade at the Richmond Farmers' Market next Saturday. If you're interested in knowing more, check out his website by searching for Daughters of the Queen. I want to thank Mr. Meade, Mrs. Pearce, Mrs. Rhodes, Mrs. Manchester and all the 2nd graders for making this a great day!

Active Families

2010-06-04T13:13:00.000-07:00

wwwCharlestownFit

Yesterday morning, Dr. Cathy Moffitt and I were looking at the forms returned from students who did our new program, wwwCharlestownFit. At that time we had 34 returns and I know that more came back today. We were happy to see the level of involvement that families had in trying alternate activities. Personally I was pleasantly surprised that so many families kept up with the month-long recording.

I wondered if a month was too long since our previous May program had just run for one week. However, it's obvious that many of you enjoyed the chance to log the times when you engaged in activities to promote Wellness, Wholeness, and Wisdom. After seeing the results, we discussed how real change doesn't come in just a week. We hope the month-long program might lead some of us to making changes in some of our "couch potato" habits. As results are compiled we will know more how to revise the program for next May to make it even more engaging.

It was announced today that students will be recognized "at a later date". Obviously, that later date will be in the next two weeks! If your child brought in their form by today (the last day for returns) they'll be hearing from us shortly. Only 10 days left!

The Library - Central to the School

2010-05-14T06:08:00.000-07:00

Hi, this photo shows how our library - at a pivotal corner - is a physical hub of Charlestown School. The corner makes it a central spot, especially for Grades 3 & 4, but for the entire school.

On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this week our 4th graders spent their mornings doing NECAP Science testing. Testing is a prominent focus of education and the entire school gets involved, not just 4th Grade (or 3 & 4th in the Fall). Classroom teachers assume the primary role, but Reading Teachers, Math teachers, Resource and many others contribute to helping our students do well on the required assessments. My small part on those days is to put out the easel at the corner to remind everyone to help maintain a quiet testing environment.

The big picture is that all of the staff here contribute to teaching and learning at Charlestown School. Specials areas (Library, PE/Health, Art, Music) have their own learner standards. In addition, we try to reinforce good learner qualities and many times can integrate our work with classroom work. Paraprofessionals, custodians, Office Staff, and everyone else strive to help our students become lifelong learners. And, not just on test days!

May!

2010-05-06T06:18:00.001-07:00

Somehow the last few weeks slipped by and I missed doing my weekly blog. We're already well into May which makes me think of our newest program:

wwwCharlestownFit

Many of you may remember Exercise Your Body/Exercise Your Mind. This program was created 7 years ago when I worked with Pat Fiske who was our Health&PE teacher. It was actually made to replace the old "TV Turn-Off" that had been done for several years. Well, now it's time to find a new program to promote healthy children and healthy families. Dr. Cathy Moffitt and I have planned and collaborated together to create wwwCharlestownFit. We wanted to try a month-long program that encourages wellness (healthy foods and activities), wholeness (well-rounded & creative) and wisdom (making good choices). This is the first year and we see it as a pilot to be developed and revised in the future.

The yellow papers that went home last week gave most of the information so I won't repeat it. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us via email, phone, or notes. Also, if you have ideas about tweaking this program for next year, they are most welcome.We value the input from families as we work to promote healthier habits for all of us. Have fun!

Scenes from Reading Week - Enjoy!

2010-04-16T09:25:00.000-07:00

Reading Week 2010

2010-04-09T13:18:00.000-07:00

We're heading into Charlestown School's annual Reading Week. The theme for this year is "Catch the Reading Wave" which is also the theme for Summer Reading Programs at the public libraries.

Once again, there are plenty of special activities and events planned for our school. A committee decides on the basic format for the week and offers a few suggestions so teachers can do what works best for their class. Many teachers schedule their own Guest Readers to visit their classroom. Each morning will feature a brief announcement about the Featured Author for that day. Each afternoon will finish with 15 minutes of SSR - Sustained Silent Reading - in the classrooms.

Here is the general schedule for each day:

Monday - performances by storyteller Keith Munslow; K-Gr. 2 at 9 a.m.; Gr. 3 & 4 at 10 a.m.
Featured Author = Gail Gibbons

Tuesday - a wave (parade) of books in the hall - bring a favorite or choose one in class
Featured Author = Leo Lionni

Wednesday - special Guest Readers
Featured Author = William Steig

Thursday - Book Swap in the Art Room and Make a Bookmark
Featured Author = Mark Pfister

Friday - Vocabulary Hats or Ocean Creature/Fish Hats +
All school Readathon in the hallways at 2:45
Featured Genre = Biographies with water & ocean connections

The library has a big display of books featuring the author or genre of the day. I've also arranged for our own special Guest Reader to come to library classes on Monday and Thursday afternoons. If you know Mrs. Patterson, retired children's librarian from Cross Mills, you can say a big hello to her!

Day to Day in the Library

2010-03-26T08:47:00.000-07:00

To begin with, here are some photos taken during Mrs. Owren's students' time in the library. Mrs. Owren, like many teachers, has reserved blocks to use the computers for writing projects. It's great to see the students so busy, on task, and using the library resources.

The photo below is another "day-to-day" photo of many of the activities our students enjoy. It's evident that those routines mean a lot to students. They know what to expect - from our library lessons, to "booklook" time, to my quiet announcement of "Show me you're ready" when it's time to line up. Even the 4th graders (from Mrs. Fee's class) enjoy one of the cherished routines - taking turns at the beanbag chairs. I just had to snap this candid picture when I saw the "big kids" reading quietly at our beanbags!

GettingTech-SMART!

2010-03-18T16:30:00.000-07:00

Learning is fun! Today two Library Helpers from Ms. Miceli's class came near the end of the day. After they finished stacking chairs, making deliveries, organizing the magazine rack, and shutting down extra computers, they had a few minutes. They respectfully asked if they could write on the SMART Board before I turned it off. When I okayed their careful experimenting, they enjoyed exploring the fun writing features it offers. After showing them how to turn off the SMART Board, we were all ready for the end of the day.

When we got our first building SMART Board in September we all began exploring more and more ways to use it. Since last fall, Ms. Miceli has blocked out an hour each week for class instruction featuring the SMART Board and student use of the computers in our "mini-lab" of library computers. So many other teachers now have blocks reserved that I recently began posting the Library Schedule in the hallway so teachers can see which times are open in the Library. We also began "Get SMART Thursday" lunches every few weeks when faculty members can exchange ideas and activities and have time to practice on the SMART Board.

Last week our school received a new SMART Board; the first in a classroom. Mrs. Rathbone, Grade 3 teacher, has already created many interactive lessons using the SMART Notebook software. She is scheduled to do a brief sharing at next week's Get SMART Thursday for the first lunch. Mrs. Manchester will share activities at the second lunch and I expect there will be plenty of practicing and "playing" with the SMART Board. Our students instinctively know the best way to get familiar with technology is to "play" with it, and we're finding out the same thing!

With a Library Card . . .

2010-03-11T09:18:00.000-08:00

Of course I'm a great fan of public libraries and hope that every family takes advantage of these wonderful community resources. Not only can you borrow books, DVDs, music, and loads of other items, but they offer free programs for children and adults. Rhode Island is lucky with our great statewide database, Ocean State Libraries of Rhode Island. This network makes it easy to quickly get books, etc. from any library in the state. Do you know you can reserve books, make renewals, or just search the oslri catalog from home? Try it with ths oslri link - http://www.oslri.org/ .

Today I want to tell you about another important resource offered through a state network. With your library card you can get free access to specialty databases that are usually quite expensive. They include EBSCO, World Book Online and others that are useful for adults and children. I know many teachers, professionals, and other adults who have benefited through these databases at AskRi http://www.askri.org/ You'll also see HomeWork Help and Career Center which can be especially useful.

I especially recommend World Book Online for students' research. Sure, we all like Wikipedia but the reading level is generally high for elementary students. Plus, the information can possibly be wrong since anyone can contribute. If your child wants to learn more, a trusted source like World Book is great. It comes in three different levels, World Book Kids, World Book Student, and World Book Advanced. It even includes how to cite where they got their information.
Here's the link: http://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/Login?ed=wb&subacct=00M7105

So, grab your library card and have a look at our tremendous state public libraries!

Find the Cat!

2010-03-04T13:51:00.000-08:00

There was much excitement for the four days of "Find the Cat", a part of our Dr. Seuss celebration. Mrs. St. Clair was the mastermind behind the hiding and hunting. Her students made announcements each afternoon of where the Cat in the Hat had been hiding for that day.

The photos included here came from the final day, March 2nd, Dr. Seuss' birthday. That tricky Cat had several imposters including Horton (in the Office window) and a black Webkins (up near the ceiling). In fact, it was easy to walk right past the display case outside Ms. Pizone's Kindergarten room (3rd photo above). However, if you look closely, you might spot a suspicious Hat in back of those imposter hats on the stuffed animals.

A closer look at the display case showed who was hiding behind those other animals - it's none other than The Cat in the Hat!

Birthday Wishes for Dr. Seuss

2010-02-25T17:09:00.000-08:00

Next Tuesday, March 2nd, is the birthday of Dr. Seuss and, once again, our school will be celebrating this favorite author/illustrator. We've already begun the fun with Mrs. St. Clair's class project of "Find the Cat in the Hat". Fortunately, a helpful 4th grader showed me the Cat's hiding place this afternoon since I had walked passed the hiding place several times!

Mrs. Wright, our Reading Teacher, made the Seuss resource binder available to teachers and we expect to see other fun projects next week. The pencils above will be part of the classroom activities and we hope to see every student earn a Horton Hears a Who pencil. Today our Seuss committee met, planned and counted out the pencils for each classroom (see photo). Let's hear an early Happy Birthday wish for Dr. Seuss!

Playaways Arrive!

2010-02-11T05:35:00.000-08:00

Back in the fall, I used this blog to announce receiving a CCEP Grant to purchase 20 Playaway Digital Audiobooks. Well, they have arrived and will be ready for circulation after February vacation. These digital devices will begin replacing the old audiocassettes. The grant was written for Grade 3 and Grade 4 so those students and teachers will be able to check out these new resources from our library.

This week I've been telling those students about the upcoming Playaways and told them I would be posting the list of titles online through this blog. I expect the Playaways to be quite popular and will start lists and Hold lists when students ask for a particular title. Students can come to the library after vacation or a parent can help them request by sending an email to me at cerei@chariho.k12.ri.us. As I said, they will be ready for checkout after vacation.

Since Playaways are relatively new, the list of available titles is still limited (e.g. Harry Potter is not on a Playaway) Vendors and the manufacturer are continually getting copyright clearance to add more books into this format. I hope to add more titles in the future; for now, here's what we have added to our school library:

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever ( Barbara Robinson)
The Capture (Kathryn Lasky, 1st book of Guardians of Ga'Hoole series)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory + Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (Roald Dahl)
Charlotte's Web (E.B. White)
Ella Enchanted (Gail Carson Levine)
Escape: the Story of the Great Houdini (Sid Fleishchman; nonfiction)
Holes (Louis Sachar)
Island of the Blue Dolphins (Scott O'Dell)
The Journey (Kathryn Lasky, 2nd in series mentioned above)
The Lightning Thief (Rick Riordan)
Lost and Found (Andrew Clements)
Love That Dog (Sharon Creech)
My Side of the Mountain (Jean Craighead George)
The Penderwicks (Jeanne Birdsall)
Ruby Holler (Sharon Creech)
Stuart Little (E.B. White)
The Tale of Despereaux (Kate DiCamil lo)
Tuck Everlasting (Natalie Babbitt)
Where the Red Fern Grows (Wilson Rawls)
A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L'Engle)

Hey, I just realized we got 21 titles since the Charlie Playaway has two books on it (narrated by Eric Idle!) After vacation we'll probably be seeing these "books on a lanyard" with lots of 3rd and 4th graders. BTW, the Playaways can also be connected to car or home speakers for family and class listening - enjoy!

Good-bye and Hello

2010-02-05T09:13:00.000-08:00

Today is Miss Bouffard's last day and I wanted to share some photos of her working with students:

The first photo was taken as Mrs. Manchester's 2nd grade class learned more about indexes. The SMART Board review was followed by hands-on lesson using books with indexes.
The second photo shows Mrs. Krause's 1st grade class in the middle of an extension activity for the book, Jeremy Draws a Monster. Miss Bouffard brought this book from North Kingstown Public Library (yes, she works part-time, too!) It was a real hit so I'll be buying it for our library.
The third photo shows two students working on special projects with Miss Bouffard's help and guidance.

It has been a wonderful experience to be the mentoring teacher for Miss Bouffard. Her new ideas for lessons and quick take on technology have created learning opportunities for all of us. In her third week here she presented two workshops for teaching staff about extra features on the SMART Board. We will all miss her as she goes on to her secondary school practicum. Good bye and good luck, Rachael!

This has been a busy week. Mrs. Wright, Reading Coordinator, and I were invited to the Tuesday PTO meeting to plan April's Reading Week. What energy and ideas come from those PTO members! Later in the week, the Reading Teachers and I discussed Dr. Seuss Day on March 2nd. You'll be hearing more about these upcoming programs.

This was also the week that the Playaway Digital Audiobooks arrived so we can say "Hello" to these "books on a lanyard." The 20 Playaways were purchased with CCEP Grant money and will soon be introduced into the library collection. The titles were selected for Grades 3 and 4 and I'm sure they will be quite popular. For more information about the Playaways, come back next week!

New Books!

2010-01-28T06:35:00.000-08:00

With Miss Bouffard's help, I think I managed to convert my MSWord document into a viewable image so you can read the list of new books. Since it is so small, try clicking on the list and it should become larger for you to read. If you still have trouble, email me and I'll send the list to you as an attachment. If I hear that it was simply not a good way to read this list, next time I'll try a different tech trick to put in an existing document.

In any case, this list contains titles to give a midwinter boost to our collection. Since budget money must be spent in the fall, later purchases usually come from SAF (Student Activities Fund) money which is administered through the district. The library SAF is funded mostly through Book Fair profits. The flexibility of using SAF allows me to add books when we need them. It's so rewarding to be able to bring in more books requested by students or valuable for our teachers. So, you can look at the latest list and see your Book Fair purchases at work!

The Winners!

2010-01-23T09:58:00.000-08:00

On Monday the 2010 winners of the Caldecott Award and the Newbery Award were announced at the midwinter conference of the American Library Association. Here are photos of the book covers along with information quoted from the ALA website:

"The 2010 Caldecott Medal winner is The Lion & the Mouse, illustrated and written by Jerry Pinkney (Little, Brown and Company Books for Young Readers). The screech of an owl, the squeak of a mouse and the roar of a lion transport readers to the Serengeti plains for this virtually wordless retelling of Aesop’s classic fable. In glowing colors, Pinkney’s textured watercolor illustrations masterfully portray the relationship between two very unlikely friends."

"The 2010 Newbery Medal winner is When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead, published by Wendy Lamb Books, an imprint of Random House Children's Books. Twelve-year-old Miranda encounters shifting friendships, a sudden punch, a strange homeless man and mysterious notes that hint at knowledge of the future. These and other seemingly random events converge in a brilliantly constructed plot."

Our library already has a copy of The Lion and the Mouse which I bought because of a tip from a local bookseller. When I saw it, I really admired the way "the pictures tell the story" (ask your child!) and had a hunch it might win. I hope to share it with Grade 1 students when I figure out the best way to "read" a nearly wordless book!

The Newbery Award is given for writing and a chapter book usually wins. Many times these books are better suited for middle school students, but I decide about adding a title to our collection based on reading it. This book will be challenging to most students but I hope it finds some appreciative readers at Charlestown when it is added to our library (soon!). If you want to read our school's "personal" connection to author Rebecca Stead, make sure you read my newest entry below in the "Books I've Read Recently"section.

Congratulations to the winning illustrators and authors - we all benefit!

Everyone Comes to the Library!

2010-01-15T13:18:00.000-08:00

Yes, that is Mrs. Fitts visiting the library in her blue-hair, silver outfit that she wore on Wednesday. As you probably know, it was part of her challenge to encourage donations to the local food bank and it was a great success.

As I said, everyone comes the library. We are so much more than just library classes. There are plenty of students, especially Grade 3 and 4, who come in independently for more books or to work on computer projects. In addition, this week saw:

an incoming student with her mother as they toured the school with Mrs. Fitts
two 2nd grade students from Mrs. Rhode's class who taught their classmates how to do AR tests on the computers
classroom teachers bringing their students to use the SMART Board blocks we built into the library schedule
Mrs. Mann, librarian from Ashaway School, who visited to discuss library programs and about developing new programs. BTW, I put her to work helping with a library lesson!
two 4th grade Webelo boys who came to talk to me about one of their badge requirements
a parent who dropped by to say hello
lots of students to take AR tests, work on research projects, and more!

I've always thought a library should be the center of a school. I hope students, staff, and families see it that way - I know I do!

Welcome, Miss Bouffard!

2010-01-07T13:16:00.001-08:00

If you are around the library and in our school, maybe you will see Miss Rachael Bouffard, a library practicum student from URI-GSLIS (URI - Graduate School of Library and Information Science). The students are getting to know her and she will be spending more and more time doing lessons with them during her 5-6 weeks in our school. Then she will be off to a practicum at the secondary level, but let's not go that far ahead right now!

Miss Bouffard began Monday and has already read to a kindergarten class, co-taught an online catalog lesson with me, and will be doing even more tomorrow. It's great to have someone with fresh ideas and a good approach to digital technology. As any teacher will tell you, being a mentoring teacher is a tremendous learning experience for both mentor and student teacher. I'm looking forward to the next several weeks.

This second photo shows Miss Bouffard sharing a book, Snow Lion, by David McPhail. Mrs. Terluk's afternoon kindergarten students are great listeners. It's obvious that everyone, teacher and students, was really enjoying the read-aloud!

The Spirit of Giving

2009-12-22T10:31:00.000-08:00

Last week a parent brought in this photo and others that showed how her kindergarten son had set up his trainset to look like a library. She explained that he loved library and she thought I might enjoy these pictures. Wow! Hearing her words and seeing the photos made me nearly choke up with gratitude. This is such a sweet scene and it seems like a good one for this holiday message.

I have said that I have the best job in the world and I truly feel that way. That doesn't mean I'm smiling every minute of the day or that this occupation does not have its share of frustrations. It does mean that I am so fortunate to be able to have days surrounded by children and books in a great school. The families that nurture their children also nurture us, their teachers, and I so appreciate that this parent shared the pictures. It is a joy to be librarian to her sons and to all the girls and boys at Charlestown School.

So, I'm sending all of you my wishes for meaningful holidays with your family and friends. I hope you have time to share warm moments with your children (another plug for reading aloud to your kids!) Happy Holidays to All!

Cynthia Reiser-Jones

Family Time

2009-12-17T13:58:00.000-08:00

A blog is great as a forum for one's thoughts and ideas. My idea this time is about family read-alouds. This blog also gives me this chance to promote one of my all-time favorite books, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson. If you want to share a wonderful story that is short, LOL funny, and touching, try this book. A review on the back cover from the Denver Post says, "The book is outrageous, lively, funny and wonderful. The Christmas story takes on a strangely moving depth of meaning and shines through with a new brilliance." I agree wholeheartedly.

I was fortunate to have someone suggest this book years ago when my own children were young. We had family read-alouds before bedtime each night and kept up this tradition until they reached their teen years. I can remember breaking down in laughter as we read about the Herdmans - "the worst kids in the history of the world" and how they changed the local Christmas pageant. It became our December read-aloud and a new tradition developed. This new tradition was that one of my children would have to read the last chapter out loud because I kept tearing up with emotion. I still find that catch in my throat when I read the book or think about the powerful message it sends.

The book is available in libraries and bookstores. To me, it's a classic that can appeal to anyone at anytime. I plan to read it again next week!

Not Just Checking Out Books!

2009-12-11T05:15:00.000-08:00

These photos were taken during library class for Mrs. St. Clair's 3rd grade class. The first photo shows some of the happy students who had viewed some websites shown on the SMART Board . The second photo has two of them finding a book during their "book look" time. They had previously looked up the requested book, The Polar Express, on the OPAC (online catalog) , found the call number, and went to the correct location for the book. It is so rewarding to see them apply their information-seeking skills.

The weekly library classes include so much more than just checking out books. Today's library media specialist works to help students learn effective ways to find all sorts of information as well as good books to read. In the weeks to come, I hope to spotlight some of the many activities that take place during that weekly class.

In addition, the library is used by classroom teachers who reserve time to use our mini-computer lab. Often I co-teach with the classroom teacher and we can really guide learning as the students work on research projects. This week Mrs. St. Clair's class began a research project on how different countries celebrate winter holidays. They came for their regular library class in the morning and then in the afternoon we had a good co-teaching session for an hour in the library. Mrs. Fitts plans to write more about this activity in her Chariho Times column next week, so try to make sure you read it.

Until next week, Mrs. Reiser-Jones - Librarian, Library Media Specialist, Library Teacher - whatever you call me!

Technology and Kids

2009-12-03T12:06:00.000-08:00

Our students today have grown up with digital technology. In fact, some use the term "digital natives" to describe young people who are very comfortable with new technology because they have not known a world without it. Those of us who go back some years can be called "digital immigrants". We are at varying levels of being tech-savvy but we will always have an "accent" because we grew up in a non-digital world. The 4th grader in this photo is perfectly comfortable with computers and certainly knows his way around the library!

The other photo has two more 4th graders- one with old media - a VHS tape, and the other with newer media - a DVD. The challenge for school libraries is to try to update resources while being realistic about budgets. Our library has plenty of DVDs; however, we also have VHS tapes which continue to be used for curriculum support. Even if we could financially replace every VHS tape tomorrow, I might not be able to find every title that has proven useful for teachers. So, updating is done bit-by-bit, year-by-year. Last week's blog mentioned the new digital audiobooks that will be purchased through a CCEP Grant. By using budget money, SAF funds from Book Fair proceeds, and grant money, we hope to try to keep up with newer resources.

One lesson I like to share with 3rd grade students is to show a filmstrip about "Mr. Dewey and His Decimal System". I held on to this filmstrip when I got rid of many others back in 1999. I like the way it explains this Big Idea: When information is organized, it is easier to locate and use. That's an important message in any age.

Another reason for showing a film projector and filmstrip is the oportunity to discuss how technology changes. I like to challenge the 3rd graders by saying that their children or grandchildren will think DVDs are antiques. When I suggest they might go to a yard sale in 30 years and find an I Pod for a dollar, I hope they can grasp that they will see plenty of changes in the years ahead.

Finally, a new lesson we've shared this year is for students to brainstorm tech media into three categories - old, fairly new, and new. We have noticed that some media (filmstrips, vinyl) are nearly obsolete, but others were invented many years ago and keep changing (TVs, cameras, phones, etc.) This integrates well with the Science standards and helps us recognize the importance of media in our lives. By the way, it was quite an eye-opener for myself and a student teacher when we heard that CDs were old media!

Thanks for reading!

CCEP Grant to Bring New Library Resources!

2009-11-25T07:24:00.000-08:00

Wow! I just heard this week that we received a CCEP Grant for $900 that will help us update our library resources. We will be able to add 20 Playaway Digital Audiobooks to our collection and hope to make these listening devices available to 3rd and 4th grade students soon. The photo above shows a sample of the Playaway for The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. There is a protective case that holds the Playaway with lanyard, earbuds, and extra batteries. The entire book is contained in the small Playaway which has functions for volume, speed of reading, and bookmarking.

Our current offerings for audiobooks are all on audiocassettes which are rapidly becoming "antiques". The Playaways will help us begin replacing the tapes and moving into digital resources. Probably the next step will be downloading books from the Internet, but, for now, the Playaways should be very popular with students and teachers.

I wrote the grant with the cooperation of 3rd and 4th grade teachers and we targeted titles for those grades. It's a good start to updating the technology resources in our school and Playaways are very library-friendly in addition to kid-friendly. Thanks, CCEP, for awarding this grant!

Best Wishes for a good Thanksgiving to all of you.

Blogging

2009-11-20T13:41:00.000-08:00

Hi,
If you have been a follower of this blog, you've seen this photo on an earlier post. In fact, it was one of my first blogs, done probably last January. This picture of my dog, Suki, has now been added to the blog on a permanent basis. Yesterday I learned how to add a "gadget" and Suki's picture is now at the bottom of the frame on the right side.

Another addition to that area (another gadget) is where I hope to post books I've read recently along with a quick review. The book I wrote about this week is a new one by Kate DiCamillo. She is one of my favorite authors because she is an outstanding writer and really stretches in the variety of stories she creates. Some of her titles are: Because of Winn Dixie, The Tale of Despereaux, and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tullane. Her latest book (see below) did not enthrall me the way others have done, but others may love it. As I tell the kids, "If everyone loved the same books, it would be a boring world".

This blog provides me with a quick way to keep in touch with students and their families at home. When I tried to keep up a webpage, I just didn't keep it current and an old webpage is worse than nothing. So far, blogging has been easier for me to tackle each week. I'm hoping that the upcoming PTO newsletter (print) will bring more readers to my blog since it is mentioned as part of "In the Library Media Center". It would be nice to get the two-way communication that blogging can provide, but with busy library days I simply cannot moderate any comments.
Soon I hope to add more library news - new books, class activities, and research project done by students. Stay tuned!

Cindy Reiser-Jones, Librarian

Book Fair Wrap-up

2009-11-13T12:46:00.000-08:00

This picture is small way to show my tremendous gratitude to everyone who helped with Book Fair last week. I had to be out and could not attend the big week. When I realized it could be left in very capable hands, my concerns vanished and I said goodbye to worries about how it was going. I did miss seeing all the excited faces and greeting families, but knew that the Book Fair was in good hands.

There is no way to say "thank you" enough times to Lisa Huzyk and Tami Gebelein who organized, assembled, re-ordered, reminded, and did a myriad of tasks associated with Book Fair week. These two ladies stepped in and quickly took care of everything. They even cleaned up and put everything away! Tami was a wizard at counting money and helped me figure out our sales (counting lots of money is not my strength). Thank you, Lisa and Tami!

Besides these two PTO leaders, there were so many volunteers that helped make it all work. Big thanks go to all who helped students shop, straightened up stock, and made the Book Fair a success.

And it was a big success with total sales over $5, 155! Even though Scholastic cut profit margins this year, we still made $1288 to spend on resources for students and staff at our school. This money, put into the library SAF account, is crucial for the extras beyond budgeted items. Everyone who shopped or supported the Book Fair in any way should give themselves a big pat on the back. Once again, Thanks!

Cindy Reiser-Jones,
Librarian

Book Fair - Coming Soon!

2009-10-22T12:22:00.001-07:00

Two of our Library Helpers are showing their excitement for our upcoming Book Fair. These fellows had already done lots of tasks in the library including making deliveries, dusting, and stacking chairs. They were quite willing to help getting the word about the Scholastic Book Fair. This fundraiser will be held November 2 - 7. Students in Grades 1-4 shop during their library class, but we have plenty of hours open for families to shop together. Here are the times:

Monday 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Tuesday 8-4
Wednesday Family Night 8 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Thursday 8 -4
Friday 8-4
Saturday Family Event 9 -12

More information will be coming home about the Book Fair.
Volunteers Still Needed so please fill out those forms that came home a few days ago. PTO is such a help in getting this community event to be a big success. All proceeds go to our library resources to benefit students, staff, and families. If you have questions about the Book Fair, you may reach me at cerei@chariho.k12.ri.us.

The following photos are Library Helpers from Mrs. Parker's 4th grade class as they help organize the magazines in the library. Thanks, kids!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

2009-10-08T12:36:00.001-07:00

We spent the afternoon learning more about Eric Carle and his book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Mrs. Wright, our Reading Coordinator, told us about the JumpStart Read for the Record day which focused on this wonderful book. Can you believe it has been 40 years since it was published?

The first photo shows students from
Mrs. Pearce's 2nd grade class enjoying the videos of Eric Carle talking about his book and also Carle's reading of his classic.

The second photo has some students from Mrs. St. Clair's 3rd grade class enjoying the website videos on our SMART Board.

If you like to share good websites with your child, try www.eric-carle.com to get these short videos, pictures and video of the artist at work, a coloring sheet, and more. If you really enjoy his work and art from other picture book illustrators, you might want to make a trip to Amherst, MA to the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. It's a fantastic place and quite worth the 2-3 hour drive. There are changing exhibits of many illustrators, a gift shop, and a wonderful place for children and families to make art.

Finally, the photo below is of the master author/illustrator, Eric Carle, reading our featured book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Congratulations and Happy 40th Anniversary!

Open House Visitors!

2009-10-02T12:41:00.000-07:00

Here are three of our happy students who came to visit the library during Open House. They were just a few of the many smiling faces who brought their families to see our new SMART Board, visit with friends and say hello.

At times it was quite busy in the library, especially Monday night. If I didn't get a chance to meet you I hope to see you another time.
Also, feel free to come to the library if you want to introduce yourself, ask about books, or just to look around at our collection. Parent accounts are welcome so just let me know if you want to be able to check out books in your own name. It's always best to check ahead for times when I can plan to be less busy and more able to talk with you. It's so rewarding to get to know the families of our students.

Another opportunity to visit will be during our annual Book Fair, November 2-7th. There will be much more information about the Book Fair coming home in the next few weeks.

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Reiser-Jones

2009-09-25T13:55:00.000-07:00

As you can see, I'm still excited about our new SMART Board. If you stop by the library during Open House you can see our wonderful library and a PowerPoint with photos of each library class. I love to see our students and to meet everyone. Kindergarten families are especially welcome because I may not have yet met your family members. Hope to see you!

Here's another slide from the PowerPoint with one of our 4th grade classes. The photos will also be in the hallway display case. Don't we love seeing pictures of our children!

Mrs. Reiser-Jones,
Librarian

We're in Full Swing!

2009-09-18T06:24:00.000-07:00

It feels good to be back in the "full swing" of school days and to move on beyond review and routines. This week we began the Library Helpers that some 4th graders like to do as an extra program

In the first photo you will see two hard-working boys from Ms. Miceli's class. These students came as Library Helpers yesterday afternoon and they stacked chairs, made deliveries to classrooms, and turned off computers for the evening. You'll see another photo below of them proudly showing their Library Helper badges.

As noted last week, all students in Grades 1-4 have now borrowed a book at least once. Kindergarten students will begin this routine later in October. I hope you read the Library Information sheet that went home with everyone. It lists their library class day plus important information about our library. However, it seems I forgot to update this year's sheet to include this blog that I began last year. Oh well, if you're reading this, you obviously found it!

Here's the other photo of our Library Helpers from Ms. Miceli's class. They wanted their picture taken in front of our new SMART Board. Don't they look great?

Happy Reading!

Mrs. Reiser-Jones

Welcome Back!

2009-09-08T15:15:00.000-07:00

Wow! We have a new SMART Board! After wanting one for some time, we're really using this new tool for learning. I'm learning, too, as I try to figure out all the features for teachers to enrich their work on this interactive whiteboard.

The photo here shows some of the students from classes that were able to view President Obama's speech today. It was videostreamed via www.whitehouse.gov and we watched it on the big SMART Board screen. You can also see the TV in this photo that was tuned to C-SPAN. Since live videostreaming can have bandwidth problems, I wanted to make sure we were able to watch the speech somehow in case our live feed failed us - but it didn't!

Library classes are off to a great start. Most classes in Grades 1-4 have begun borrowing books. However, the Labor Day holiday and a couple of fire drills means that some students haven't borrowed yet. Rest assured that everyone in these grades should be bringing home a book this week. Kindergarten students will be having their first checkout later in the fall as we are working on routines and getting to know each other.

It's great to see our students back. Stay tuned for more blogging from our library!

Mrs. Reiser-Jones, Librarian

Keep Reading

2009-06-24T10:58:00.001-07:00

This photo is a favorite of mine because it "says it all". What more could you want than a smiling kindergarten student cuddled up with a book in our library beanbag chairs? Actually, I've kept this photo for years. Today I asked the student and his parents about featuring him on this blog because I simply love the picture. It's been around a few years and this fellow is now heading to 5th grade!

No matter your age, we can all keep reading and learning. If you're a parent, read to your children - no matter their age. If you're a student, be sure to enjoy many books this summer. and remember - Be a Smartie - Keep Reading!

Mrs. Reiser-Jones

May Events

2009-05-27T10:21:00.000-07:00

One May event that was just completed was the 2nd Annual Rooster Chick Games for selected 4th graders. The 23 students who participated in the games had read at least 5 of the 20 nominated books for the 2009 Rhode Island Children's Book Award (otherwise known as the Rooster books). Students vote for a favorite book in February and we culminate the year with these games. The photo on the left shows the Red Team hard at work!

I began the Rooster Chick Games last year as a transition to the Rooster Games done at Chariho Middle School. We do a scaled-down version with several literacy activities and small prizes at the end. This year we had an enthusiastic, involved group of students and it was a lot of fun for all of us. Ashaway School used our program as a prototype for their pilot year - maybe this will spread!

Another popular program, Exercise Your Body,/Exercise Your Mind, was completed last week when students proudly brought back their forms. This year we had 91 students who made at least 100 points - an increase over last year! Each student received a certificate and a sticker. They were also entered in grade-level drawings for a $10 gift card to a bookstore. The winners of the gift cards were:
Kindergarten: Abby Duckworth - Ms. Iacoi's class
1st Grade: Emma Hughes - Mrs. Koukas' class
2nd Grade: Delaney Smail - Mrs. Pearce's class
3rd Grade: Saydee Wheeler - Mrs. Rathbone's class
4th Grade: Renee' Sherman - Mrs. Fee's class

Congratulations to all the winners - each student (and their families) who worked at changing some habits to gain healthier activities. This was the 6th year for this collaborative program between Library (me) and Physical Education/Health (Mrs. Fiske) and it's been rewarding to see the interest in meeting the challenge.

Keep Reading!
Mrs. Reiser-Jones

Exercise!

2009-05-12T16:56:00.000-07:00

Are you keeping track of your points? We're in the middle of Exercise Your Body, Exercise Your Mind so if you decided to meet the challenge, you are probably trying for that extra activity to get closer to the 100 points you need. Of course, the 10 bonus points you get for each day of No Screen Time makes it easier to reach your goal. So far, I have 22 points and 6 days to go.

If you get at least 100 points, then get the signatures on your form and return it next week. All successful participants receive a certificate and a sticker to show they made the challenge. Also, their name will be put into a grade-level drawing for a $10 gift card to a bookstore. Good luck!

CHS Comes to Read!

2009-04-03T13:19:00.000-07:00

Wow! Did we have an exciting day today! Through the help of Chariho High School Principal Robert Mitchell and Athletic Director Todd Grimes, we had a bus pull up with 22 athletes from Chariho High School. Even the mascot, the Chariho Charger came! All these CHS students volunteered to be guest readers during our final day of Reading Week. The CHS students were assigned to our classrooms and some were able to visit their former teachers. The picture above shows Kristen Donovan with Ms. Miceli (Grade 4 teacher) who taught Kristen back in 1st grade. The other picture shows the athletes and the Chariho Charger arriving at our school.

The high school athletes did a great job reading to the elementary students and gladly answered their questions. We have a big thank you to Mr. Mitchell, Mr. Grimes, and the following CHS students: Carissa Ancona, Chelsea Anderson, Sarah Andrew, Bradley Borway, Timothy Calcagni, Amanda Dolan, Kristen Donavan, Nicholas Dubee, Zachary Evans, Jacob LaBelle, Stacy Le Herissier, Kelsea Loffredo, Katelyn Nooney, David Northup, Carly Papa, Hannah Schneidenback, Lotte Sherman, Julie Smith, Michael Thweatt, Mary Toth, Krist Trenholm, Tyler Zegarzewski, and the Charger mascot. Here are some photos from our special day:

Chariho High School athlete Stacy Le Herissier reads to Mrs. Pearce's 2nd grade class. The students listen as Stacy shares, Martha Speaks. What would happen if a dog (Martha) ate alphabet soup and could suddenly talk?

Stacy plays volleyball for CHS and was happy to answer questions about playing sports. The second graders had plenty of questions as they enjoyed the attention of three athletes who came to read in the library.

Zach Evans (CHS Volleyball) reads Max Cleans Up to the eager 2nd grade students.

Nicholas Dubee (CHS soccer/Track & Field) reads How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? during Mrs. Pearce's library class. The accomplished athletes were also great at read-alouds!

A big thank you to everyone who made this day possible - GO READ! GO READ! GO READ!

Fool the School!

2009-04-02T12:28:00.000-07:00

Cody and Arianna are two 2nd graders who liked this poster from Mrs. Pearce's class.

What do you get when you combine Reading Week and April Fools' Day?

Fool the School!

With a focus on nonfiction books, students and teachers brainstormed statements that might be FACT or FICTION. The posters were in the hallways and all day we saw students eagerly reading the statements and putting their tally mark under FACT or FICTION.

Students were so excited - I heard the word "awesome" many times yesterday as they went through the hallway reading the posters. Teachers were thrilled as students carefully read the sentences and then recorded their answers. Here are two more pictures taken of students enjoying Fool the School!

Three Cheers for Reading - GO READ!

Rhody Ram Visits Our School!

2009-03-30T12:56:00.000-07:00

It's Reading Week and the Rhody Ram stopped by the Library while visiting Charlestown School. Rhody was lucky enough to come while Ms. Iacoi's afternoon class was having their library class. He got to see the students as they were ready to leave with their library books.

The students also joined with the Charlestown Cheerleaders to give a big cheer for reading -

RAH, RAH, RAH!

READ at HOME!

We have lots of fun activities planned for Reading Week and I hope to keep up with posting some photos to this blog.
Below you will see Rhody with some big fans -
the "Charlestown Cheerleaders"and Mrs. Fischer, teaching assistant.

Three cheers for Reading!

GO READ!

2009-03-20T07:53:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lapse since the last blog - time flies! Today is the first day of spring and a good time to catch up and think ahead. Reading Week is coming! I've been working with the reading teachers and classroom teachers as we plan for March 30-April 3.

Our Reading Week theme this year is GO READ!!! We'll have some cheers and fun to celebrate the joys of reading. A flyer will go home listing each day's activities. You can help the school-home connection by remembering this cheer, created by Ms. Miceli -

RAH, RAH, RAH!
READ AT HOME!

So keep in mind the R, the A, and the H and see how much you can
READ AT HOME!

Verizon Donates Books

2009-01-12T10:56:00.000-08:00

Books from Verizon
The Chariho district elementary libraries were fortunate to receive free books from Verizon. Each elementary school was able to purchase $250 of paperbacks from the Scholastic catalog. The books arrived and have been cataloged and processed for the library. There are several new Geronimo Stilton, new Goosebumps and copies of other favorite titles. I was also able to buy some chunky board books that are sometimes needed by teachers.

The donation from Verizon was very generous. Here's a big public "thank-you" to Verizon for adding to our school library.

Library Classes
Here's a brief overview at library lessons in January:
Kindergarten - some classes have been enjoying Katy No-Pocket and others are learning about selecting books from the library.
Grade 1 - I have been sharing more Caldecott books to prepare for the announcement of the new winner on January 26th. All classes heard Strega Nona last week and will be extending their enjoying during an art project with Mrs. Rich.
Grade 2 - Students are learning about how some of our library books are organized. Ask if they know what a call number is and what the letters on the spine label mean!
Grade 3 - We've begun a unit on Internet safety, using the I-SAFE curriculum. Students are well aware of being careful on the Internet so we cover strategies they can use, especially thinking and making good choices.
Grade 4 - As a collaboration with classroom teachers, each student will prepare a short PowerPoint slide show about the state they are researching. Since many students have not used PowerPoint, they're all excited to get started!

2008-12-17T13:00:00.000-08:00

Vacation Ideas

I've always been a fan of the I Spy books which combine language art skills with incredible visual images. Kids don't even realize they're learning because they're having so much fun. The rhyming texts were created by Jean Marzollo with Walter Wick responsible for the amazing photos. Walter Wick now makes his own series, Can You See What I See?, which follows a similar style.

Our 2nd grade students and teachers came back from a recent field trip, raving about the exhibit they saw on the creations of Walter Wick. The exhibit is currently in nearby New London, CT.

"Walter Wick: Games, Gizmos and Toys in the Attic"

Lyman Allyn Art Museum

New London, CT.

Exhibit runs until Jan. 26, 2009

The art museum is near the campus of Connecticut College which is across from the Coast Guard Academy - an easy trip from Charlestown. I believe adult admission is $8.00 with kids under 12 for free. What a great family trip this would be for a fun and creative vacation day. I know I plan to go before January 26th when this touring exhibit moves on to another site. If you want more information, go to the museum website at:

www.lymanallyn.org/exhibitions.html

If you cannot make it to the exhibit, your child can check out some of the many I Spy and Can You See What I See? books from our school library!

I hope you have a wonderful vacation and have a chance to share time with family and friends. If you still need gift ideas for your child, remember that giving a book means they can keep opening their present again and again!

Happy Holidays and Good Reading!

Welcome to your Library!

2008-12-08T14:19:00.001-08:00

Mrs. Fitts has been giving a great lesson on setting up a blog for our school library. Here's the first blog entry! I hope to create frequent updates on the news from our library. Stay tuned!

Mrs. Reiser-Jones, Library Media Specialist

Breaking News!

At the Holiday Fair, I was selling "nearly new" books that had been collected for worthwhile projects. Many students, families, and teachers got some great deals on books and it was fun to see everyone who stopped to browse or shop. Best of all is that all proceeds are going to our school Gingerbread Express, a helping project for local families. I'm quite happy to say that we have donated $232.50 so far, and there will be a few more dollars coming this week. Mrs. Cafaro and Mrs. Connell are coordinating the Gingerbread Express and they are thrilled with the extra money to help families get through this holiday season.

Thank you to everyone who donated books and/or bought books. What a wonderful way to celebrate our community!

Charlestown Friday Focus - check out the weekly school updates from Mrs. Fitts.

Here's a photo of my dog, Suki, as she looks at a favorite book, How Smart Is Your Dog? This book was written by Caroline Coile and it's available in our library. Check it out!

Charlestown School Library

We're Back! - February version

More Wondering . . .

Book Fair!

The Wonder Table

Come to Open House. (No spiders allowed!)

September 2011

Visual Literacy

Another Beanbag Photo

Happiness is a warm beanbag and a book!

More Than Just Reading

Fun and Fitness

All Sorts of Books!

Reading Week Activities

Centering

We're All Winners!

Current Events-Iditarod and more

Wacky Wednesday Pictures

Learning is Fun!

Lifelong Learning

Snow, IPEVO, and PTO: O-O-Oh!

Think + Snow

Thank-you!

More Tech!

Gingerbread Books

Collaboration

Back to Normal

Busy, Busy Book Fair

Book Fair is Next Week!

Kazu Kibuishi Visits Charlestown School

NECAP Practice Sessions

Open House Visitors

Hope to See You at Open House!

Good Times in the Library

The Green (or white) Sheet

Back in the Library!

Almost Summer!

Learning About Bees

Active Families

The Library - Central to the School

May!

Scenes from Reading Week - Enjoy!

Reading Week 2010

Day to Day in the Library

GettingTech-SMART!

With a Library Card . . .

Find the Cat!

Birthday Wishes for Dr. Seuss

Playaways Arrive!

Good-bye and Hello

New Books!

The Winners!

Everyone Comes to the Library!

Welcome, Miss Bouffard!

The Spirit of Giving

Family Time

Not Just Checking Out Books!

Technology and Kids

CCEP Grant to Bring New Library Resources!

Blogging

Book Fair Wrap-up

Book Fair - Coming Soon!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Open House Visitors!

We're in Full Swing!

Welcome Back!

Keep Reading

May Events

Exercise!

CHS Comes to Read!

Fool the School!

Rhody Ram Visits Our School!

GO READ!

Verizon Donates Books

Welcome to your Library!