This Week in the Library: March 6-10

What a busy week in the library.  We hosted the Sno-Isle 3rd Grade reading challenge In-School Battle on Tuesday.  Wednesday was group picture day for the yearbook, many groups were photographed in the library.  Classes also got a lot accomplished.  Here's what we did:

Kindergarten (Cook/Morehouse): We learned a lot about spiders from the book "I'm Trying to Love Spiders" by Bethany Barton.  It is one of our Washington Children's Choice nominees for this year. We also worked on presenting our after-book selection drawings using the document camera and microphone.  Vocabulary: millions, billions, venomous, and arachnid.

Kindergarten (Widenr):  We read "Job Wanted" by Teresa Bateman.  The dog was not discouraged and kept on trying to find a farm job right for him.  It is one of our Washington Children's Choice nominees for this year. We also worked on presenting our after-book selection drawings using the document camera and microphone. Vocabulary: discouraged, foofaraw, plodded, barnyard, and commotion.

Grade 1 (Bonnell): We read "I'm New Here" by Anne O'Brien.  This story looks at 3 children who have come to America from other countries around the world and how they adjusted to their new homes.  It is one of our Washington Children's Choice nominees for this year.

Grade 1 (Gordon):  We heard "Mummy Cat" by Marcus Ewert.  Mummy cat roams the pyramid waiting for his queen to wake up.  It was noted that there were several other stories in the illustrations.  Students poured over the books (see photo) during reading time to solve the mystery.  It is one of our Washington Children's Choice nominees for this year.  Vocabulary: pyramid, pharaohs, century, serene.

Grade 1 (Hirst):  We heard "Job Wanted" by Teresa Bateman.  The dog was not discouraged and kept on trying to find a farm job right for him.  It is one of our Washington Children's Choice nominees for this year. Vocabulary: discouraged, foofaraw, plodded, barnyard, and commotion.

Grade 1 (Stillwaugh):  We heard "A Perfectly Messed-up Story" by Patrick McDonnell and reviewed what we knew about taking care of books.  It is one of our Washington Children's Choice nominees for this year.  Vocabulary: skipping, stain, fingerprints, respect, inspire.

Grade 2 (Gregerson): Due to yearbook photos in the library, we were only about to read during this time.

Grade 2 (Holt):  We heard "Job Wanted" by Teresa Bateman.  The dog was not discouraged and kept on trying to find a farm job right for him.  It is one of our Washington Children's Choice nominees for this year. Vocabulary: discouraged, foofaraw, plodded, barnyard, and commotion.

Grade 2 (Rempel):  We heard "Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas" by Lynne Cox.  We learned about an elephant seal from Christchurch, New Zealand who, in spite of being taken away, kept returning to the river it loved.  Vocabulary: New Zealand, flippers, nostrils, swerved.

Grade 3: We began working on our posters for the "Best Book I Ever Read" poster contest.  The annual contest is sponsored by the Edmonds Arts Commission and the Friends of Edmonds Library.  All posters need to be completed by Thursday, March 23.

Grade 4: We continued to work on using Newela to read current event articles and informational text online.  Mr. Gibson's class was unable to do this due to yearbook picture taking.

Grade 5: We continued to discuss fact and opinion.

Grade 6: We finished our work on comparing our school online library catalog with catalogs at a public library and university library.

Professional: I attended the district test coordinator training Monday evening so I can be up-to-date on information regarding our upcoming SBA testing.  I served as a panelist at a meeting on Tuesday for prospective librarians at the district office.  I attended our regular staff meeting on Wednesday morning.  I set-up and organized our In-School Sno-Isle Reading Challenge contest for 3rd graders.  Edith Farrar from the Edmonds Public Library served as the emcee.  I helped Mrs. Shumway with Woodway Walkers on Monday.  I updated old PC that will create computer stations in Mrs. Widener's kindergarten class.  I helped troubleshoot technology and met with our tech support person for the upcoming gmail conversion and state testing.