A Fond Farewell to Mrs. Sherman

Here we are at the last day of school!  Today and last week were filled with "lasts": the last time waking up Bear, the last story read aloud, the last book enjoyed and returned.  Of course, these are only temporary "lasts".  There's plenty more fun awaiting us far away in the fall.  But one of them truly marked an ending.

We're going to miss you, Mrs. Sherman!!!

Last week, we enjoyed the last assembly organized by our music teacher, Mrs. Sherman, because she's retiring!  I'm happy to say that she really did manage to go out on a high note!  (Pun intended, haha!) Every grade got to perform, and as always the music she selected was terrific.  I must admit I was especially charmed by the first graders' presentation of The Library Song by Tom Chapin and Michael Mark:

I thought this would be a fitting way to close my last blog entry of the school year: with a reminder to visit your public library!  Don't forget that there are summer reading programs that you can sign up for, and it's completely free.  

I wish you all a safe and happy summer break!

Keep reading!!! 

Bookmark Contest Winner!

Haiden receives her award from Joe Carr -- surprise!!

Mrs. DiFranco, our wonderful art teacher, brought all of the second graders into the library yesterday morning for a special presentation.  All of these students participated in a contest put on by the Washington County Coalition for Children.  The purpose of the competition is to provide a combination of literature and art to help second graders to identify emotions and find positive ways to express their feelings.  After reading a story to them about that theme, Mrs. DiFranco had each student design a bookmark that depicted a feeling.  The winner of the contest, Haiden McKay, received a framed copy of her work, and every student received a bookmark with the design (and some other cool prizes, too).

Mrs. DiFranco reads aloud  The Way I Act

Joe Carr, the "Bookmark Contest Ambassador", also presented the library with a copy of the book The Way I Act by Steve Metzger and extra bookmarks.





You can access local behavioral health services and more information by visiting www.washcokids.org.

Every second grader received a bookmark, a bracelet, and a color-change pencil!

Through My Window: Ashaway Kids Grow Garden

Harvesting

Thanks to the hard work of Ashaway School parents, students and teachers, I have been enjoying the library's view: the Ashaway Kids Grow Garden is getting greener by the day!  Yesterday I took a stroll through the garden during lunch and captured pictures of a very special activity.  Parent volunteers were showing the students how to harvest and clean some of the vegetables, and there was salad for all!  It was so great to see how enthusiastic the kids were (and they loved taking turns using the salad spinner).  And, despite the amount of fresh lettuce that was devoured, I was amazed by how much still remains.  As with all of the plants in the garden, they will be collected over the summer and donated to the food pantry at Wood River Health Services. 

Washing

You can read about the project and view even more pictures by visiting http://www.orgsites.com/ri/kidsgrow/index.html.

YUM!

As we near the beginning of summer, I'll be spending a lot of time ordering new materials for the library.  You can be sure that I've added some titles about gardening to the list!  

Observing

Can you find our well-camouflaged friend?

At the Rooster Games, Everyone's a Winner!

Team Red works together during the "Object Round"

This week at long last my fourth graders participated in the Rooster Games, a kind of "book Olympics".  (You can read more details about it in last year's post by clicking here.)  While we did have a team that earned the most points (congratulations Team White!), I like to say that every student who participated was a winner.  They all enjoyed playing the different games and acting out an original skit for us on the stage, plus every single student who qualified to be on a team was invited to join the pizza party at the end of the day (courtesy of our wonderful P.T.O.).  So how many of our fourth graders were able to take part?  EVERY SINGLE ONE!  I am so proud of them!  We even had two students who enrolled in fourth grade when the school year was already half over, and I explained that they could qualify with fewer books.  They both went ahead and read their five anyway!

Team Orange records a correct answer during the "Multiple Choice Round"

This year I was delighted to see that the books never rested on the shelf for long.  Most of the students didn't stop reading after qualifying with their first five books, and four students went ahead and read every single one on the list.  Wow! 

Four students earned a "Champion Reader" medal by reading all the books on the list!

Team White - Winners of the 2012 Ashaway School Rooster Games!