The Spirit of Giving

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

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!

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

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!

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

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

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!

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

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!

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

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!

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!

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

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

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!

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!

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!

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!

Y

Rhody Ram Visits Our School!

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!

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

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!