This Week in the Library: December 14-18

It's Winter Break! Enjoy the time off and don't forget to read!  Here's what we did in classes this week:

Primary Classes (K-3):  We read "Creature Features" by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page from our Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award nominee poster.  This non-fiction book looks as some of the unusual features (ears, eyes, noses, etc.) found on various animals.  There is even more information about the animals in the end matter.  Vocabulary words: snout, unfurl, intimidating, burrow.

Grade 4: We continued our unit on digital citizenship.  We looked at two situations where students created passwords.  We decided if they were good passwords and how they could make them stronger.

Grades 5 & 6:  We took our Reading Superhero personalities from the past weeks and looked for reading suggestions from the "A Book and A Hug" website.

Professional:  Continued reading books to be reviewed for Puget Sound Council review group. Assisted with technology troubleshooting.  Cataloged magazines and prepared donated books for cataloging.

This Week in the Library: December 7-11

Here's what we did this week in the Sherwood Library!

Primary Classes (K-3):  We read "The Cat, the Dog, Little Red, the Exploding Eggs, the Wolf, and Grandma" by Diane and Christyan Fox." from our Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award nominee poster.  This hilarious book is dialogue between the cat and the dog who are discussing the Red Riding Hood story.  The dog has many questions about the story.  Vocabulary words: endpaper, village, hypnotize, axe.  Related Links:  Book Trailer (YouTube - may be blocked at school)

Grade 4: We began our unit on digital citizenship.  The first lessons deal with passwords.  We discussed various ways people keep their belongings safe (both offline and online).

Grades 5 & 6:  We took the results of the reading superhero survey from last week and read the descriptions of the various reading superhero personalities. We then reflected on whether the description fit us or not.

Professional:  Attended the December meeting of the Puget Sound Council book review group.  I renewed my membership in this organization for 2016!  I assisted with the deployment of Chromebooks in intermediate classrooms (and a couple 3rd grade classes) and shifted computers/carts so that all classrooms in the school maintained a 2 student per 1 computer ratio.

Hour of Code

Some classrooms are participating in the Hour of Code this week.  If your classroom isn't, you can still do it on your own!  Here's the link:  HOUR OF CODE

This Week in the Library: November 30 - December 4

Wow! Our first full week in the library in a long time!  We're getting back to normal routines as we head toward Winter Break.  Here's what we did in classes:

Primary Classes (K-3):  We read "Big Bad Bubble" by Adam Rubin from our Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award nominee list.  This funny book looks at the monsters of La La Land as they learn that their fear of bubble is unfounded.  We discussed why they were afraid and how they might overcome other fears in the future.  The author presented the simple lesson of "don't believe everything you hear."  Vocabulary words: disappear, reappear, feeding frenzy.  Related Links:   Book Trailer (YouTube - may be blocked @ school)  Homemade Bubble Mixture

Grade 4: We did a pre-assessment for an upcoming unit on digital citizenship.  I'll use the data to adjust lessons to maximize our library class time.

Grades 5 & 6:  We completed a reading interest survey to determine our reading superhero personas.  Next time we'll look at the personas and decide if they match us or not.  These will also be used as I introduce our 2016 Best Books.

Professional:  A busy week: troubleshooting technology in classrooms and the library, preparing data for the upcoming Chromebook deployment, preparing books earned from the book fair to enter our library catalog.  Pulled gingerbread books for the first grade and found books for new ELL students.  I also distributed the team copies of 3rd grade reading challenge books to teachers and collected survey forms to return to Sno-Isle Libraries.  Handed out WCCPBA packets to primary teachers so they can begin reading 2016 nominees with their students.  Completed reading "Irrepressible Reformer: A Biography of Melvil Dewey" by Wayne Wiegand.

This Week in the Library: Nov. 23-24

The book fair is over!  The carts and boxes went back to Scholastic early Monday morning.  Because of the 2-day school week, only 7 classes came to the library for class (3 others came for book selection only).  Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Note: The online book fair continues until Sunday, Nov. 29.  See the post below for more information and a link to the online fair!

Primary Classes (Morehouse, Widener, Gordon, Bonnell, Gregerson, Keating):  We began reading our 2016 Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Nominees.  This week we read "At the Old Haunted House" by Helen Ketteman, illustrated by Nate Wragg.  It is based on "Over in the Meadow" (link is to song version on YouTube and may be blocked within the school).  We discovered it is a counting book and a rhyming book.  Vocabulary words: draft, spells, vault, bayed, and haunt.

Professional: Wrapped up the book fair accounting, found books for an inter-library loan with Alderwood MS, prepared WCCPBA books for the primary teachers to read in class, checked in a mountain of books!

Book Fair Online Continues until Nov. 29

Even though the book fair at Sherwood is over.  You can still order online.  Online orders will be sent to Sherwood (no shipping charge) after the 29th.  Also, books purchased through the fair online will count toward our book fair and the proceeds will help the school library!

Visit this link: Online Book Fair

4th Saturday Lego Slam @ Edmonds Public Library Coming Soon!

Saturday, November 28 - 2:00pm

Build your best with LEGO. Open session for creating by yourself or with a building buddy.  Bring the whole family!  For ages 5 and up.

For more information visit Sno-Isle.

This Week in the Library: Nov. 16 - 20

The Book Fair is here!  All books due this week will be due at the next time the class attends library.  Here's what we did during library time:

Kindergarten: I read "The Pout-Pout Fish Goes to School" by Deborah Diesen.  We then talked about the book fair.  Students had a few minutes to browse the fair.

Primary Classes: We talked about the book fair, caring for items, what sales tax is, and many other questions regarding the book fair.  Student had some time to browse the fair and complete an optional "wish" list.

Intermediate Classes: We talked about the book fair, caring for items, what sales tax is, how to estimate prices and taxes, and many other questions regarding the book fair.  Student had some time to browse the fair and complete an optional "wish" list.

Professional: Worked with the PSO on the Book Fair. Submitted the 3rd grade reading challenge teams to the Edmonds Public Library, did some troubleshooting of technology issues throughout the building. Continued reading "Irrepressible Reformer: A Biography of Melvil Dewey" by Wayne Wiegand.  Read several books for Puget Sound Council book review group. Completed cataloging several donated books for our library collection.

This Week in the Library: Nov. 6-13

A fun week as we get ready for our annual book fair.  There was no school on Wednesday due to Veteran's Day.  Books for Wednesday classes will be due on their next library time (Dec. 2).

Because there will be no check out next week (and for W-F classes Thanksgiving week), we spend a bit more time for book selection.

Primary Classes (K-3): We viewed the K-3 Book Fair author/illustrator video.

Intermediate Classes (4-6): We viewed the 4-6 Book Fair author video.

This Week in the Library: November 2-6

This was square dancing week at Sherwood.  All specialist classes were in the gym with our artist in residence.  Some classes came by to select books for checkout.  Books will be due next week on regular library days.

This Week in the Library: October 26-30

Despite conference week half days, we saw all of the classes (except 1/2 day kindergarten) during the week.  Here's what we accomplished:

Kindergarten (Morehouse): We heard "Cat Secrets" by Jef Czekaj.  We reviewed procedures for book selection.  Students selected books and then we checked them out on the computer. Vocabulary words: reveal, stretch, peeking, secret

Kindergarten (Cook): We heard "Bertie Was a Watchdog" by Rick Walton.  We reviewed procedures for book selection and what to do after we check out our book.  Vocabulary words: robber, horrible, bared.

Kindergarten (Widener AM & PM):  Since we didn't have class this week, all books will be due next week, Nov. 3.

1^st Grade: We heard "Don't be Silly, Mrs. Millie!" by Judy Cox.  We discussed how Mrs. Millie was acting silly and found examples in the text.  We also reinforced the Everybody section and how books are organized by the author's last name.  Vocabulary words: o'clock, announces, reminds.

2^nd Grade: We created a poster for the Fiction section of the library.  We talked about where the fiction section is in the library, what fiction is, and how books are arranged.  We also discussed the importance of doing the 5-finger check to see if a book is right for us.

3^rd Grade: We looked at the title page of a book.  We reviewed and/or learned: title, author, illustrator, publisher, place of publication, and copyright date.  We practiced finding these items on a title page by completing a worksheet as a class.

4^th Grade (Mindt): We did a partner activity looking for books from the various section of the Classified Section (Dewey numbers).

4th Grade (Gibson):  We finished the introduction about the Dewey Decimal Section.

5^th Grade: We almost completed our library rule posters.  Groups will finish them next week so they can be hung up in the library.

6^th Grade: We worked on our Ancient Egypt resource lists.  Students shared sites that they thought might help others in their upcoming social studies unit.

Professional: Attended the district librarian meeting.  Our focus this month was on multicultural resources and diversity in our collections.  I learned of some great books to buy for our library and how to promote them.  

Conference Week Schedule

Due to the half-days this week (10/26 - 10/30).  Some classes may come to the library at different times and on different days.  Here's the schedule:

Monday
9:30 - Gregerson
10:00 - Bonnell
10:30 - Morehouse
11:05 - Gordon

Tuesday
9:30 - Keating
10:00 - Goodsky
10:30 - Rempel

Wednesday
9:30 - Gibson
10:00 - Hirst
10:30  - Cook
11:05 - Chase

Thursday
9:30 - Pawling
10:00 - Mindt
10:30  - Alderson
11:05 - Bogert

Friday
9:30 - Liker
10:30 - Wildenhaus
11:05 - Hanson

This Week in the Library: October 19-23

Here's what we did in library classes this week.  Due to the teacher inservice day on Friday, student who have classes on Friday will have their books an extra week.

Kindergarten (Morehouse, Widener): We heard "Mouse Mess" by Linnea Riley.  We went over procedures for book selection.  Students selected books and then we checked them out on the computer.  Books are due 1 week from today. Vocabulary words: milk, crackers, pickle

Kindergarten (Cook):  We heard "Cat Secrets" by Jef Czekaj.  We reviewed procedures for book selection.  Students selected books and then we checked them out on the computer. Vocabulary words: reveal, stretch, peeking, secret

1st Grade: We continued our discussion of the Everybody Section (picture books).We read "I Want to be an Astronaut" by Byron Barton (E-BAR) Vocabulary words: crew, satellite, gravity

2nd Grade (Gregerson): We heard "Previously" by Allan Ahlberg.  We looked at how the author connected the fairy tales together into a new story.  We created a poster about the Everybody Section that will hang in our library throughout the year.  Vocabulary words: previously, swapped

2nd Grade (Goodsky, Rempel):  We heard "Those Darn Squirrels" by Adam Rubin.  WWe created a poster about the Everybody Section that will hang in our library throughout the year. Vocabulary words: grump, stockpile, geniuses, birdfeeder.

3rd Grade (Keating, Pawling) :  We talked about ways to find a just right book in the library.  We talked about displays, listening to others, book lists, award lists, and more.

3rd Grade (Liker): No class due to district inservice day.  Books will be due next week.

4th Grade (Gibson): No class due to district inservice day.  Books will be due next week.

4th Grade (Mindt): We finished our Dewey Decimal System introduction, looking at the 600 - 900 sections.

5th Grade (Alderson):  No class due to the Walkathon Awards Assembly.  Books will be due next week.

5th Grade (Wildenhaus): No class due to district inservice day.  Books will be due next week.

6th Grade (Chase, Bogert):We started creating resources lists for their upcoming Ancient Egypt study.  Students shared websites they thought would be helpful for Egypt research on the Google Classroom stream.

6th Grade (Hanson): No class due to district inservice day.  Books will be due next week.

Professional: Attended the Sherwood staff meeting.  Reviewed a dozen books for Puget Sound Council (all of which we will get to keep for our library).  Pulled Ancient Egypt books for the 6th grade.  Talked to the Scholastic Books representative about our upcoming book fair (mid-November).  Participated in a webinar titled "1000 Books Before Kindergarten: Early Literacy DIY"

This Week in the Library: October 12 - 16

Here's what we did in classes this week:

Kindergarten (Morehouse, Widener): We heard "Chester's Way" by Kevin Henkes.   After discussing the book, we created shelf markers so we can begin selecting books for checking out next week.  A letter went home to parents.  LETTER TO PARENTS.  Vocabulary words: diagonal, disguises, nifty

Kindergarten (Cook):  We heard "Mouse Mess" by Linnea Riley.  We went over procedures for book selection.  Students selected books and then we checked them out on the computer.  Books are due 1 week from today. Vocabulary words: milk, crackers, pickle

1st Grade: We began a discussion of the Everybody Section (picture books).We read "Miss Nelson is Missing" by Harry Allard. Vocabulary words: spitballs, rapped, swarm, discouraged

2nd Grade (Gregerson): We heard "Manners in the Library" by Carrie Finn.  We discussed how to act in the library.

2nd Grade (Goodsky, Rempel):  We heard "Previously" by Allan Ahlberg.  We looked at how the author connected the fairy tales together into a new story.  Vocabulary words: previously, swapped

3rd Grade (Keating) :  We completed our book care bookmarks!  Students used book care tips they had brainstormed in a previous library lesson.

3rd Grade (Pawling):  We heard "Applesauce Season" by Eden Lipson.

3rd Grade (Liker): No class due to district substitute unavailability.  We will have a special book selection / check out time on Monday (10/19)

4th Grade (Gibson): No class due to district substitute unavailability.  We will have a special book selection / check out time on Monday (10/19)

4th Grade (Mindt): We heard "Applesauce Season" by Eden Lipson.

5th Grade (Alderson):  We worked on our library rule posters, although class was interrupted by the statewide earthquake drill.

5th Grade (Wildenhaus): No class due to district substitute unavailability.  Mr. Wildenhaus brought them in independently for book selection and check out.

6th Grade (Chase, Bogert):We finished our library skills checklist.  Students had to demonstrate that they knew how to checkout/return/renew, place a hold on a book, create resource lists on their library account, and add books and web sites to these lists.

6th Grade (Hanson): No class due to district substitute unavailability.  We will have a special book selection / check out time on Monday (10/19)

Professional: Attended the state school library conference.  Learned about Google Classroom, Readers as Writers, Makerspaces, and more.  Listened to authors talk about their books and their creative processes.

This Week in the Library: October 5-9

It's October!  Check out the new books on display.  They were purchased with money from last year's book fair.  Here's what we did in classes this week:

Kindergarten (Morehouse): We heard "I Took My Frog To The Library" by Eric Kimmel.  To respond to the book, students created a page for our class book, "What We Took To The Library." Vocabulary words: dictionary, pouch, shoulder

Kindergarten (Widener): We heard "I Stink" by Kate McMullan.  We practiced getting and returning supplies in the library.

Kindergarten (Cook):  We heard "Chester's Way" by Kevin Henkes.   After discussing the book, we created shelf markers so we can begin checking out books next week.  A letter went home to parents.  LETTER TO PARENTS.  Vocabulary words: diagonal, disguises, nifty

1st Grade: We worked on understanding how to take care of library books.  We heard "Manners With a Library Book" by Amanda Tourville. Vocabulary words: dance, dancer, dancing, sneakers.

2nd Grade (Gregerson): Reviewed library expectations using an interactive PowerPoint presentation and practiced looking for books quietly.

2nd Grade (Goodsky, Rempel):  We heard "Manners in the Library" by Carrie Finn.  We discussed how to act in the library.

3rd Grade (Keating) :  We heard "Applesauce Season" by Eden Lipson.

3rd Grade (Liker, Pawling): We completed our book care bookmarks!  Students used book care tips they had brainstormed in a previous library lesson.

4th Grade (all classes): We continued our introduction of the Dewey Decimal System, which is used to organize the books in our classified section.

5th Grade (Alderson):  Groups used their brainstormed list of library rules to pick 1-3 ideas to use for a poster to be displayed in the library.  Groups began to create a rough sketch of their poster.  

5th Grade (Wildenhaus): We brainstormed how the school rules "be kind, be safe, and be a learner" look in the library.  Groups will create posters next week to remind others.

6th Grade (all classes):  We worked on our library skills checklist.  Students had to demonstrate that they knew how to checkout/return/renew, place a hold on a book, create resource lists on their library account, and add books and web sites to these lists.  We will finish this work next week.

Professional: Read chapters 6-7 in "Mindsets in the Classroom" by Mary Cay Ricci.

     Also, continued working on getting materials ready for circulation. Depending on the book this might involve: cataloging, creating and placing the spine label, laminating the cover, taping the spine, stamping the book with school identification, or placing other labels (award, language, etc).
     Participated in the district's Tech Team Training on Tuesday with Mrs. Goodsky, Mr. Gibson, and Mr. Wildenhaus.  We began to work on a technology tools plan for Sherwood.

    Attended the building staff meeting on Wednesday morning.

    Worked on gathering data and information so we can ensure classrooms have the computers they need (1 to 1 in 5th & 6th grades, 2 to 1 in all other classes).
     Attended my beginning of the year conference to set goals for this year's teacher evaluation.

This Week in the Library: September 28 - October 2

Fall is here!  Here's what happened during library classes.

Kindergarten (Morehouse, Widener): We heard "Rupert Can Dance" by Jules Feiffer. We worked on sharing our favorite part of the book. Vocabulary words: dance, dancer, dancing, sneakers.

Kindergarten (Cook): We heard "I Took My Frog To The Library" by Eric Kimmel.  To respond to the book, students created a page for our class book, "What We Took To The Library."  Vocabulary: dictionary, pouch, shoulder

1st Grade (Bonnell, Gordon): We heard "Rupert Can Dance" by Jules Feiffer. We reviewed how to use our shelf markers while looking for books.  We learned the "Booky Looky" song. Vocabulary words: dance, dancer, dancing, sneakers.

1st Grade (Hirst): Reviewed library expectations using an interactive PowerPoint presentation and practiced looking for books quietly.

2nd Grade (Gregerson): We heard "Rupert Can Dance" by Jules Feiffer. We reviewed how to use our shelf markers while looking for books.  We learned the "Booky Looky" song. Vocabulary words: dance, dancer, dancing, sneakers.

2nd Grade (Goodsky, Rempel):  Reviewed library expectations using an interactive PowerPoint presentation and practiced looking for books quietly.

3rd Grade (Keating) :  We brainstormed a list of book care tips (we'll use the list next week).  We then saw a slide show of "Animals Should Definitely Not Borrow Library Books" which was based on Ron and Judi Barrett's book, "Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing."  We talked about the book tips in the presentation.

3rd Grade (Liker, Pawling): We took the list of book care tips that we brainstormed last week and began to create book tip book marks to remind us to take care of library books.  We'll finish them next week.

4th Grade (all classes): We starting an introduction of the Dewey Decimal System, which is used to organize the books in our classified section.

5th Grade (Alderson):  We brainstormed how the school rules "be kind, be safe, and be a learner" look in the library.  Groups will create posters next week to remind others.

5th Grade (Wildenhaus): We reviewed library rules and policies.

6th Grade (all classes):  We signed on to the library Google Classroom and we previewed our upcoming library project.

Professional: Read the first 5 chapters in "Mindsets in the Classroom" by Mary Cay Ricci.

     Also, continued working on getting materials ready for circulation. Depending on the book this might involve: cataloging, creating and placing the spine label, laminating the cover, taping the spine, stamping the book with school identification, or placing other labels (award, language, etc).

     Began library helper training (Wed -> Fri teams).

    Attended the building staff meeting.  District officials visited Sherwood on heard about our Student Improvement Plans.

    Attended the district librarian's meeting at Beverly on Tuesday evening.  We discussed curriculum, Google accounts, and best books.

     Submitted our school's application for the Sno-Isle 3rd Grade Reading Challenge.

     Helped teachers with technology problem solving.

This Week in the Library: September 21-25

Another week is done! Classes are still working on procedures in the library.  Here's what we did:

Kindergarten (Morehouse, Widener): We heard "Stella Louella's Runaway Book" by Lisa Campbell Ernst.  We talked about how we can share our favorite part of the book.

Kindergarten (Cook):  We heard "Rupert Can Dance" by Jules Feiffer.  We worked on sharing our favorite part of the book.

1st Grade (Bonnell, Gordon): We decorated our own shelf markers to use during book selection and check out time this year.  We also reviewed safety procedures in the library for fire, earthquake, and lock down.

1st Grade (Hirst):  We heard "Rupert Can Dance" by Jules Feiffer.

2nd Grade (Gregerson): We decorated our own shelf markers to use during book selection and check out time this year.  We also reviewed safety procedures in the library for fire, earthquake, and lock down.

2nd Grade (Goodsky, Rempel):  We heard "Rupert Can Dance" by Jules Feiffer.

3rd Grade (Keating) :  We decorated our own shelf markers to use during book selection and check out time this year.  We also reviewed safety procedures in the library for fire, earthquake, and lock down.

3rd Grade (Liker, Pawling):  We brainstormed a list of book care tips (we'll use the list next week).  We then saw a slide show of "Animals Should Definitely Not Borrow Library Books" which was based on Ron and Judi Barrett's book, "Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing."  We talked about the book tips in the presentation.

4th, 5th, & 6th Grade (all classes):  We reviewed library rules and policies.  NOTE: Mrs. Hanson and Mr. Wildenhaus's group did not have library class due to the beginning of the year assembly.  Their library books will be due Next week (10/2).

Professional:  Registered for the 2015 Washington Library Media Association Annual Conference.  Began reading "Mindsets in the Classroom" by Mary Cay Ricci.
      Also, continued working on getting materials ready for circulation.  Depending on the book this might involve: cataloging, creating and placing the spine label, laminating the cover, taping the spine, stamping the book with school identification, or placing other labels (award, language, etc).
     Library helper application were due on Thursday, so I began to read the application and create a library helper schedule.
     Attended the building staff development afternoon on Friday.  The staff was working on writing, student growth goals, and looking at SBAC assessment data for Sherwood.

This Week in the Library: September 14 - 18

The first full week of school was a busy time in the library.  We hosted the annual hearing screening on Monday and Child Care for the first part of Curriculum Night, then the library was open for parents to visit during Curriculum Night.  Here's what we did in library classes:

Kindergarten (Morehouse, Widener): We met Mr. Sonnen, the librarian.  We shared our name and favorite food with the class and we heard "Chrysanthemum" by Kevin Henkes.  Vocabulary words: chrysanthemum, Parcheesi, miserably.

Kindergarten (Cook):  We heard "Stella Louella's Runaway Book" by Lisa Campbell Ernst.  We talked about how we can share our favorite part of the book.

1st Grade (Hirst):  We decorated our own shelf markers to use during book selection and check out time this year.  We also reviewed safety procedures in the library for fire, earthquake, and lock down.  NOTE: The other 1st grade classes were moved to the previous Friday due to vision testing in the library on Monday.

2nd Grade (Gregerson): We heard "The Library Dragon" by Carmen Deedy.  We practiced entering and exiting the library and reviewed safety drill procedures in the library. Vocabulary words: incinerated, incensed, linoleum, singed.

2nd Grade (Goodsky, Rempel): We decorated our own shelf markers to use during book selection and check out time this year.  We also reviewed safety procedures in the library for fire, earthquake, and lock down.

3rd Grade (Keating):  We created a list of things we remembered from library class last year and a list of things we hope to do in this coming year.  Students also checked out their first books and found their assigned table spots.

3rd Grade (Liker, Pawling): We decorated our own shelf markers to use during book selection and check out time this year.  We also reviewed safety procedures in the library for fire, earthquake, and lock down.

Student Created Shelf Markers

4th, 5th, & 6th Grade (all classes): We decorated our own shelf markers to use during book selection and check out time this year.  We also reviewed safety procedures in the library for fire, earthquake, and lockdown.

Professional:  I attended Puget Sound Council for the Review of Children's Books' first meeting of the school year at the Shoreline Center on Saturday, Sept 12.  I helped several teacher with technology issues.  I also worked on getting many books ready for circulation.  Depending on the book this might involve: cataloging, creating and placing the spine label, laminating the cover, taping the spine, stamping the book with school identification, or placing other labels (award, language, etc).  I also held a library helper meeting to distribute job descriptions and applications.  Finally, I create a brochure about the library program for Curriculum Night, which I attended, on Thursday.

Annual Hearing Screening in Library

The annual student hearing tests will be conducted in the library on Monday, September 14.  The library will be CLOSED all day to accommodate these important checks.  The schedule is arranged by the district, our building Nurse, and our building Speech Language Pathologist.  Sorry for the inconvenience.

This Week in the Library: September 9-11

WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL!  It is so exciting to see everyone.  This was a 3-day week, so I only saw a little over half of the classes.  Here's what we did in library classes this week.

Kindergarten (Cook): We met Mr. Sonnen, the librarian.  We shared our name and favorite food with the class and we heard "Chrysanthemum" by Kevin Henkes.  Vocabulary words: chrysanthemum, Parcheesi, miserably.

1st Grade (all classes):  We heard "The Librarian from the Black Lagoon" by Mike Thaler.  We discussed what a library is and learned some of our procedures.  Vocabulary words: laminate, laminated, laminator, overdue, decontamination.

2nd Grade (Goodsky, Rempel): We heard "The Library Dragon" by Carmen Deedy.  We practiced entering and exiting the library and reviewed safety drill procedures in the library. Vocabulary words: incinerated, incensed, linoleum, singed.

3rd Grade (Liker, Pawling):  We created a list of things we remembered from library class last year and a list of things we hope to do in this coming year.  Students also checked out their first books and found their assigned table spots.

Mrs. Pawling's class list

4th & 5th Grade (all classes): We completed a September library interest survey and checked out our first books.  Students learned where their assigned library seat was and some of the procedures in the library.

6th Grade (Bogert, Hanson): We completed a September library interest survey and checked out our first books.  Students learned some of the procedures in the library.

Professional:  Much of this week was spent preparing for classes, completing some updates on the school web page, assisting teacher with technology burps, and helping around the school with the new parking lot procedures, students moving through the building, and getting teachers books to read aloud to their classes.

Best Book Online Quiz Now Open

Did you finish a 2016 Best Book over the summer?  Don't wait until September to show that you've read the book.  Take the Online Best Book Quiz.  Happy Reading!

This Week in the Library: June 8-12

The school year is coming to a close, but that doesn't mean reading and learning must stop.  Make sure to check out the District Summer Reading page.

A lot of exciting things happened in the library this week!  Here's the rundown:

Edith Farrar visits Sherwood!

Kindergarten - 4th Grade (ALL CLASSES):  Ms. Edith Farrar from the Edmonds Public Library came to visit all of the primary classes (and 4th grade) to speak to them about the Sno-Isle Summer Reading Program and the activities that will be occurring at the public library this year.

Kindergarten (Morehouse):   This week we heard "Alpha Oops! The Day Z Went First" by Alethea Kontis. This alphabet book was mixed up, but it gave us ideas for the alphabet books we will work on next week.

1st Grade (Gordon):  We heard "Chameleons are Cool" by Martin Jenkins.  We reflected on the non-fiction text by completing a sheet where students listed one thing they learned from the story and created an illustration.

3rd Grade (Keating):  We read the 4-part stories created by students in Mrs. Pawling's class.  We became illustrators and talked about how the illustration needs to reflect the text.  Then we illustrated their stories!

4th & 5th Grade (Gibson & Alderson, Wildenhaus): We continued a lesson of private and personal online information.  We looked at several websites that require registration and we looked at what information they were collecting and why they might need that information.  We also discussed the difference between required information and optional information.  Vocabulary: required, optional

6th Grade (Hanson) :  Ms. Rautenberg, the librarian at Edmonds Woodway HS came to speak to the class about some of the things they can work on in middle school to prepare for high school.

6th Grade (Bogert) :  We heard "The Man Who Walked Between the Towers" by Mordicai Gerstein.

Professional:  Worked with newspaper club members on their articles for the upcoming issue, formatted and prepared the paper for its release next week.  Bills were sent home for students who had lost or overdue books.  Began reading "In Defense of Read-Aloud" by Steven Layne.  Attended the regular staff meeting.  Prepared award certificates for Library Helpers, Newspaper Club, and Best Book Readers.  Certificated will be presented at the final assembly next Wednesday.

Many Thanks!

Thank you to Janet, our octogenarian volunteer for her service to Sherwood's library this year.  Janet repairs books and magazines, prepares books and magazines for cataloging, and many other tasks.  She has been helping Sherwood for many year....back to the "Ms. B" days.  She was presented with a certificate of appreciation and a treat this morning!

Library Bills Sent Home

Bills for overdue and/or lost books have been given to students in all classes (last class received them Wednesday afternoon).  Please return those books or pay the amount on the bill.

Remember you can always check your library account.  Just go to the library catalog (link in the right column under "Navigation Links") and log in with your district username and password.

If you have any questions see Mr. Sonnen as soon as possible!  We have over 40 students, parents, community volunteers and others who check in and out books. Occasionally mistakes are made, so let us know.  Then we can correct them!

This Week in the Library: June 1 - 5

ALL LIBRARY BOOKS ARE DUE JUNE 5

This was a busy week in the library.  All library books were due Friday.  Mrs. Morehouse and Mrs. Alderson's classes did not have library class due to field trips.  Here's what we did in class:

Little Eaglets (Preschool Story Time): Mrs. Goodsky, first & second grade teacher, was our guest reader. Eaglets heard "Freight Train" by Donald Crews and got color sheets about trains and the letter T.  This was our last preschool story time.  Good luck to all those moving on to kindergarten next fall and we hope to see those who are still in preschool next year!

Kindergarten (Cook & Widener):   This week we heard "Alphabet City" by Stephen Johnson and "Alphabet Mystery" by Audrey Wood. We created illustrations for our class alphabet book and talked about the role of the illustrator.

1st Grade (Gordon):  We heard "Star of the Sea: A Day in the Life of a Starfish." by Janet Halfmann.  We reflected on the non-fiction text by completing a sheet where students listed one thing they learned from the story and created an illustration.

1st Grade (Bonnell & Hirst): We heard "Chameleons are Cool" by Martin Jenkins.  We reflected on the non-fiction text by completing a sheet where students listed one thing they learned from the story and created an illustration.

2nd Grade (Rempel):  We heard "One Tiny Turtle" by Nicola Davies.  We reflected on the non-fiction text by completing a sheet where students listed one thing they learned from the story and created an illustration.

2nd Grade (Gregerson):  We heard "Astronaut Handbook" by Meghan McCarthy.  We reflected on the non-fiction text by completing a sheet where students listed one thing they learned from the story and created an illustration.

3rd Grade (Pawling):  We read the 4-part stories created by students in Mrs. Keating's class.  We became illustrators and talked about how the illustration needs to reflect the text.  Then we illustrated their stories!

4th & 5th Grade (Gibson): We began a lesson of private and personal online information.  We identified sites that students go to that require some kind of registration to gain access to the site.  Vocabulary: register

4th & 5th Grade (Wildenhaus / Mindt): We continued a lesson of private and personal online information.  We looked at several websites that require registration and we looked at what information they were collecting and why they might need that information.  We also discussed the difference between required information and optional information.  Vocabulary: required, optional

6th Grade (Hanson) :  We began a lesson on the Latin language.  We had an overview of where Latin developed, why it might be helpful to learn some of it (especially roots), and how English uses words from other languages.  We'll continue this exploration next week.

6th Grade (Bogert) :  We continued a lesson on the Latin language.  Students used online and print dictionaries to look up Latin roots and find English words that originated from the root.  Students put those words into a Google slides presentation.

PSC Book Review Mtg.

Professional:  Worked with newspaper club members on their articles for the upcoming issue.  Attended the last district librarian meeting of the year at Alderwood MS.  Topics discussed included summer reading programs, best book battle, new technology for next year, and the upcoming tech levy.  I also attended the Puget Sound Council book review group meeting at Shoreline Center.  I heard reviews for over 30 books and selected books to read and review over the summer (most of which will end up in our library collection).  We also worked on getting circulation records ready for bills to be produced next year.

Book Return Reminder Parody Videos

Some students asked for the links.  Here they are.  Some are on You Tube, so use with adult permission.

All About Them Books (Worthington, Ohio)

Bring Them Back  (Frozen)

ALL LIBRARY BOOKS ARE DUE FRIDAY 6/5.

Congratulations to the Book Squirrels

The Sherwood Book Squirrels earned a tie for 3rd place at today's Edmonds SD Battle of the Best Books.  They were just 1 point away from the top teams.  Great job!  The Deadly Snails also did well.

Thank you to Meadowdale Elementary for hosting the battle and all of the Edmonds SD Librarians for organizing this fun morning!

This Week in the Library: May 26-29

A shorter week due to Memorial Day on Monday.  There were no Monday classes.  Books checked out to them will be due next Monday, June 1.  Here's what happened in the library this week:

Little Eaglets (Preschool Story Time): Ms. Hirst, first grade teacher, was our guest reader. Eaglets heard "Sheep in a Jeep" and got color sheets about sheep and the letter J.  Next week's reader (6/4) will be Mrs. Goodsky, 1st & 2nd  grade teacher.

Kindergarten (Cook & Widener):   This week we heard "Alpha Oops! The Day Z Went First" by Alethea Kontis. This alphabet book was mixed up, but it gave us ideas for the alphabet books we will work on next week.

1st Grade (Bonnell & Hirst):  We heard "Star of the Sea: A Day in the Life of a Starfish." by Janet Halfmann.  We reflected on the non-fiction text by completing a sheet where students listed one thing they learned from the story and created an illustration.

2nd Grade (Gregerson):  We heard "One Tiny Turtle" by Nicola Davies.  We reflected on the non-fiction text by completing a sheet where students listed one thing they learned from the story and created an illustration.

3rd Grade (Pawling):  We created a short, 4 part story as the author.  Next week we'll get to be illustrators for stories created by the other 3rd grade class.  We talked about how your writing needs to be descriptive so the illustrator knows what to draw.

4th & 5th Grade (Wildenhaus / Mindt): We began a lesson of private and personal online information.  We identified sites that students go to that require some kind of registration to gain access to the site.  Vocabulary: register

6th Grade (Bogert) :  We began a lesson on the Latin language.  We had an overview of where Latin developed, why it might be helpful to learn some of it (especially roots), and how English uses words from other languages.  We'll continue this exploration next week.

Professional:  Prepared for the district battle of the best books (see other post).  Attended my evaluation year-end conference.  Weeded books from the collection due to obsolescence (old dates, bad information).  Followed up on final forms from the Smarter Balance Assessments.  Helped troubleshoot various technology problems (Redcat, printers) and worked on summer technology storage plans. Attended the regular Sherwood staff meeting.  Worked with newspaper club members on their articles for the upcoming issue.

Book Squirrels and Deadly Snails to Represent Sherwood

Congratulations to all of the teams for reading Best Books this year and working so hard on preparing for the school battle!  We had 5 strong teams compete and the scores were the closest we've seen in years (see below).  The district competition will be held at Meadowdale Elementary School in Lynnwood on Friday, May 29.  Good luck to our teams!

Place	Score	Team Name
1	24	Book Squirrels
2	23	Deadly Snails
3	22	Final Countdown
4	21	Battling Unicorns
5	20	Bookeaters

This Week in the Library: May 18 - 22

Here's what happened in the library this week:

Little Eaglets (Preschool Story Time): Mrs. Shook, Assistant Principal, was our guest reader. She read "Bark! George" by Jules Feiffer. Eaglets got color sheets about monsters and the letter D.  Next week's reader (5/28) will be Mrs. Hirst, 1st grade teacher.

Primary Classes (K-3): These classes heard the book "The King's Taster" by Kenneth Oppel.  We talked about point of view, the book's narrator was the dog.  Students were asked to listen for the cook's dream and what the cook discovered about the king.  Vocabulary words were: leftovers, coronation, boar, and venison.

Intermediate Classes (4-6):  These classes looked at newspaper articles from 1980 relating to the eruption of Mt. St. Helens.  We discussed primary source material.  Mrs. Mindt's class also got to see a quick video about the disaster.  HISTORY CH. VIDEO   


Other Mt. St. Helens Links:

Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Mt. St. Helens Information Rescource Center (commercial)
How Volcanoes Work - Mt. St. Helens 1980 Eruption  (San Diego St. Univ.)

Best Books:  We had our school Best Book competition on Friday.  Book Squirrels and Deadly Snails are the teams that move on to the district competition next week.  Good luck!

Professional:  Completed the last of the state testing (SBA) make-ups.  Worked with the other specialists on developing a master schedule for the 2015-16 school year.

Edmonds Public Library Hosts Lego Slam - May 23

Build your best with LEGO.  Open session for creating by yourself or with a building buddy.  Bring the whole family!  For ages 5 and up.  Saturday, May 23, 2pm.  Edmonds Public Library

More info at: Edmonds Public Library

Usborne Book Fair

Sherwood is having an Usborne Books and More Book Fair on Tuesday, May 19.

The fair will be in the library.  Sherwood will receive 50% back in free books for our library!  There are many new titles featuring books on science, skills, stories, art, and more!

You can shop online at www.myubam.com/95967

Book Fair Times for Tuesday, May 19

8:45 - 9:20am     Before School
11:45 - 12:50      Lunch Recesses
3:40 - 4:00ish     After School
6:00 - 7:00 pm    Evening

Reading with Rover! @ Edmonds Library

From Edmonds Public Library: 
"Read aloud to a loving canine listener. The community-based literacy program, Reading with Rover, helps kids strengthen reading skills and improve reading confidence. For school-age children with a caregiver."  Saturdays May 16 & 30, 11:00 AM, at Edmonds Public Library  More info: Edmonds Library

Usbourne Book Fair Coming Soon

The annual Usbourne Books & More Book Fair is coming to Sherwood on Tuesday, May 19.  Sherwood will receive 50% back in free books for the library.  You can browse and shop the E-Fair now at www.myubam.com/95967.  This is a great opportunity to get something cool and new for Summer!

Date: Tuesday, May 19
Location: Sherwood Library
Times: 8:45 - 9:20 AM, 11:45 - 12:50 PM, 3:40 - 4 PM, 6-7 PM
Flyer: Click HERE

This Week in the Library: April 27 - May 1

Congratulations to Mrs. Goodsky's 1/2 class.  They earned 50 Library points and their class earned lunch in the library.  Each student also received a "Read" bookmark.  Point were earned by coming into the library quietly, quiet checkout time, being learners, silent reading, and lining up quietly at the end of class.  Way to go!

Here's what else happened in the library this week:

Little Eaglets (Preschool Story Time): Mrs. Floe, General Music teacher, was our guest reader. Eaglets got color sheets about monsters and the letter M.  Next week's reader (5/7) will be Mrs. Gordon, 1st grade teacher.

Kindergarten:  We finished our exploration of poetry.  This week we heard "Truckery Rhymes" by Jon Scieszka. This book contained nursery rhymes that had been changed to have a truck theme.  We tried to figure out the "real" nursery rhyme.  Vocabulary words were: junkyard, muffler, and screeched.

1st Grade:  We hear "Sixteen Cows" by Lisa Wheeler.  Next time we will alphabetize the names of the cows!  Vocabulary words were: thaw, yonder, unison, and truce.

2nd & 3rd Grade (including Mrs. Goodsky's 1/2 class):  We heard "Flicker Flash" by Joan Bransfield Graham to celebrate National Poetry Month.  Poems in this book were all about light.  Each poem was in the shape of the light that it described.

4th Grade: We reviewed our previous learning on ordering call numbers in Dewey Decimal order by working in 2 stations: Order in the library and a Dewey crossword.  We will have a short quiz on this in 1 weeks.

5th Grade:  We took the TRAILS assessment.  This short test assesses information literacy skills.  I use this to see growth in student understanding of these skills and for future planning.

6th Grade:  We worked on using technology to create book spine poems.  Students worked in small groups to assemble a poem, photograph it using the Chromebooks, and then putting the photo into a shared presentation.  There was a great deal of cooperative learning going on!  Here are our final results:  Hanson   Bogert

Professional:  Attended our school's PLC on student research.  Went to a meeting between district librarians and public librarians at Lynnwood Public Library to talk about summer reading opportunities for students in Edmonds School District. Attended our building's staff meeting on Wednesday morning.  Wrote book reviews for Puget Sound Council.  I also helped with finishing 3rd grade SBA English Language Arts testing make-ups.

This Week in the Library: April 20-24

What an exciting week in the library!

Little Eaglets (Preschool Story Time): Ms. Kessler, Sherwood Principal, was our guest reader.  We heard 3 books! One of them was "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak.  Eaglets got color sheets about monsters and the letter M.  Next week's reader (4/30) will be Mrs. Floe, our general music teacher.

Kindergarten:  We continued our exploration of poetry.  This week we heard "Animal Snackers" by Betsy Lewin.  This book contained short poems about animals and the foods they eat.  We also talked about "end matter" material that is sometimes found at the end of a book.  In this book, additional information about each of the animals in the poems was found.  Vocabulary words were: carnivorous, eucalyptus, and recline.

1st Grade: As a class, we alphabetized words that we found in last week's story, "And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street" by Dr. Seuss.  We learned how to skip letters when we didn't have a word beginning with that letter and we learned how to order words if they have the same letter.

2nd & 3rd Grade (including Mrs. Goodsky's 1/2 class): We spent time on computers practicing searching for books in the library online catalog.  Specifically students were asked to use a basic search, visual search, and write call numbers on note paper to find books.

4th Grade: We reviewed our previous learning on ordering call numbers in Dewey Decimal order.  We will have a short quiz on this in 2 weeks.

5th Grade:  Completed our poetry book scavenger hunt (see last week).

6th Grade: Completed our look at text features on a Washington State Ferry Schedule (see last week).

Professional:  Attended our school's PLC on student research.  Attended our building's Leadership Team meeting.  Topics included writing, professional development plans, and facility plans for next year.  Continued to work on our building's SBA testing.  We had a practice test for all 3-6th graders to check on wireless capabilities and trouble-shoot any log-in issues.

Took the Sherwood library helpers on a field trip to Suzzallo Library at the University of Washington.  We met w/ several workers there, learned about their jobs, and took a tour of the building.  The students asked some great questions and we had a good time.  We saw some of the 2 million books and 60 miles of shelving!

This Week in the Library: April 13-17

Welcome back from Spring Break!  The library is a busy place as SBA testing has begun.  A Couple classes had different days/times for library class to accommodate testing.  The library also hosted several meetings: PSO General Membership, CCC, and Library Helpers.  Here's what we did in class:

Little Eaglets (Preschool Story Time): Ms. Cook, kindergarten teacher, was our guest speaker. We heard "How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night?" by Jane Yolen.  Eaglets got color sheets about dinosaurs and the letter "A".  The following week's (4/23) reader will be Ms. Kessler!

Kindergarten:  To begin our celebration of National Poetry Month, we heard "Oh, Theodore!: Guinea Pig Poems" by Susan Katz

1st Grade:  We heard "And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street" by Dr. Seuss.  We learned that this was the first Dr. Seuss book, written in 1937 (78 years ago!).  We talked about exaggeration.  Vocabulary words were: minnow, rajah, and confetti.

2nd & 3rd Grade (including Mrs. Goodsky's 1/2 class):   We learned how to use our library search computers.  Things covered included:

• How to access the library catalog from any computer in the world with internet access (go to the Sherwood page/ choose library/ choose catalog...is one way)
• How to do a basic search (single words work the best)
• What happens if I spell a word wrong (see if the site offers the correct way to spell the word)
• What to write down to help me find the book (call number/title)

4th Grade: Focused on finding great books to read and finding books at their level (and books that might push them).

5th Grade: Began to celebrate National Poetry Month.  We worked in groups looking at a variety of poetry books and finding poems that fit various categories.  Several students found poems that they will read for the Morning announcements in the coming weeks!

6th Grade:  Began working of reading text in a table format.  We are using the Washington State Ferry System schedule.  We looked at the various  text features on the schedule (color, headings, italics, call-out boxes, shading, etc) and began working on a worksheet using Google Classroom.

Professional: Attended Sherwood's Budget Committee Meeting and Staff Meeting.  Coordinated the testing efforts in the building for 3rd grade and Intermediate Transition Class.  Worked with the newspaper club.