No Time for TV Week a Success!

No Time for TV Week ended on Sunday, May 20th.  All this week students have been bringing back their papers to show how many points they earned by exercising their minds and bodies, and there are a LOT of them!  This year, over 50% of our students participated in the program and 25% of all students didn't have any screen time for the entire 7 days!  I'll be handing out the prizes for earning at least 100 points next week, but today I got to announce the winners of the $10 gift certificates to the Other Tiger bookstore in Westerly.   

Thanks to the sponsorship of our wonderful Ashaway School PTO, each year I am able to draw the names of 10 winners.  This year however I was able to select 15 winners because the owner of the Other Tiger offered to donate an additional 5 certificates to our school!  A great big THANK YOU to the Other Tiger bookstore!!!

Some of our lucky $10 gift certificate winners!

Exercise Your Mind, Exercise Your Body!

There was a lot of excitement this week in the library when I announced that Monday is going to be the first day of No Time for TV Week!  Many of the students look forward to doing special activities with their families, and of course they don't mind earning special prizes, too!

The third graders in the picture above are showing off some of the great prizes they could earn next week.  (All of these students participated in the program last year and didn't have any screen time for all seven days in a row - great job you guys!!!)

All of the details about how the program works can be found by clicking on the links below.  Each student received a copy of this at school but you are welcome to print another copy if you need it:

Contract page 1
Contract page 2

If you'd like some ideas for activities you can do, please click on one of the links below to access a "No Time for TV" BINGO board you can print out.  (There are three different versions.)  I also recommend visiting the public library and heading for the non-fiction section. There you'll find books packed with things to do: crafts, drawing, cooking, science experiments, magic tricks, and secret spy codes just to name a few!

HAVE FUN!!!

BINGO board #1

BINGO board #2

BINGO board #3

Always Leave Them Wanting "Mo"!

The Pigeon has a lot of fans at Ashaway School!

My kindergarteners have been having a blast listening to the books of author/illustrator Mo Willems.  Every single title that I've shared with them has been a hit, and if you haven't gotten a chance to see them yourself I strongly suggest you visit the local public library as soon as you can! 

We finished this unit up with a bang by visiting part of Mo Willems' website, The Pigeon Presents.  Click on the yellow bubble in the top left corner and you'll find the games that we played (first on the SmartBoard as a class and then individually at the computers).  That's all we had time to do this week, so I encourage you to explore the rest of the site with your child.  There are funny descriptions of other Mo Willems characters, videos, and information about...buses.  (Why buses?  Because the Pigeon absolutely loves buses.  Just don't let him drive one!)  Plus there's even more fun to be found at Mo's own website, too.  Enjoy!

Dream It...Do It...READ!

Happy Reading Week!!!

It was a week full of fun here at Ashaway Elementary School!  On Monday Mrs. Bartkiewitz kicked off Reading Week by greeting the students at the front door with helium balloons!  Then at lunch, she and I read aloud and performed the book When I'm Big by Nila Aye and Tim Drury.  In the book, Mo and Joe imagine all the different things they might do when they grow up.  The students then went back to their classrooms and wrote about their own dreams of what they might be someday.  Then the teachers hung up their work in the hallway for all to enjoy!

Click any picture to enlarge!

On Tuesday our fabulous PTO once again sponsored our Pop and Swap.  All the students who "popped" in got to select some books from the many donations we received.  They also received a scratch-and-sniff bookmark (popcorn scented of course), a cup of popcorn and a Popsicle!

Selecting books at the Pop and Swap

On Wednesday we had our Family Read-In featuring a poetry share and singing performances.  Students from each grade recited poetry on the stage, and then grades 1-4 sang songs that they learned in music class with Mrs. Sherman.  I especially liked first grade's song, "Let's Go to the Library"!

On Thursday we were visited by author/illustrator Leslie Tryon. Her books featuring a duck named Albert were a big hit at Ashaway School!

Author/Illustrator Leslie Tryon

On Friday the PTO gave a brand new book to every child in the school.  Students also submitted their own acrostics for our poetry contest.  The winning entries were hung up in the school foyer!

Mrs. Bartkiewitz hands out brand-new books courtesy of our PTO!

Here is a sample acrostic poem written by fourth grader Matt Power:

          Read every page!
          Every book makes you smarter
          Artistic design for people wanting to read more!
          Dream about reading, read, read, read!
          I love Big Nate books
          Never put down a book
          Give a book to a friend, they will love it!

          Who wouldn't read?
          Extra reading makes you even smarter!
          Every book is awesome
          King Kong even reads!

 
It was a truly wonderful week of celebrating books and the joy of reading!  To see LOTS more pictures and examples of student work, please visit our school picture gallery at http://kmman.magix.net/album!

"My favorite book" - Part 2

I can't believe it's almost here...time is just flying by!  This coming Monday is the beginning of Reading Week!  A couple weeks ago I wrote about the display I was planning to make to celebrate our students' favorite books.  Well, here it is!

Each of the small popcorn pieces features the title of a student or staff member's favorite book in our library.  The theme of the bulletin board goes along with our PTO's Pop and Swap event, which will take place on Tuesday, April 10th from 4-6pm.  Kids and adults can "pop in" to swap books they no longer read for different ones!  (You don't have to bring in your own used books to trade, but you are welcome to do so!)  While you're there you can enjoy some popular refreshments and play some popular games!  Plus each student who attends will receive a popcorn-scented bookmark!

I really enjoyed reading what my students wrote about their favorite books.  Here are a few more:

"My favorite book in the library is Baby because it was so touching.  For example when the mother came back for Sophie I cried.  And it was also funny, like when Sophie said a very bad word!"

"My favorite book in the library is Knuffle Bunny because I thought it was funny when Trixie could not talk and her dad was not paying attention and Trixie was making up fake words.  Also, her dad actually finally noticed that Knuffle Bunny was in the wash.  I think Trixie's dad should have listened to Trixie because she was freaking out about Knuffle Bunny."

"My favorite book in this library is Lulu and the Brontosaurus because I think it's funny that the brontosaurus wants her to be his pet and got her to be nice, not throw herself on the floor kicking her heels and screeching until the light bulbs burst, and to say please.  Also, I find it interesting that the author had three endings instead of one."

"Envisioning the Future"

Yesterday was one of my most favorite days of the year; I attended the annual conference of my professional organization, School Librarians of Rhode Island.  As always, the committee put together a very stimulating day that was packed with opportunities to learn, share, and become inspired!  The theme was "Envisioning the Future", and much of the day was spent learning about a myriad of "Web 2.0" tools and resources that are available for use in the classroom.  (The first thing I did when I arrived at school this morning was to tell one of our student teachers about a collaborative online activity that fit in perfectly with her current unit.  I don't want to give too much away before the students learn about it, but I'll be spending some time this weekend learning how to use Skype!) 

Commissioner Gist

The presentation of Keith Curry Lance, our keynote speaker, was preceded by an address by Deborah Gist, the Rhode Island Commissioner of Education.  It was encouraging to hear her acknowledge the important role that school librarians play in their schools: "The movement toward digital learning is just beginning.  As librarians and educational media specialists, you are on the vanguard of this movement.  You are the champions, tour guides, and mentors for information and live in a world of information.  No one more than you has seen how technology has affected learning and teaching."  

A great deal of discussion has taken place regarding the value of both school libraries and school librarians as we watch the informational landscape change.  As Commissioner Gist also said, "We have evolved from index cards to world wide databases, from text books to tablets, from oral reports and poster boards to...podcasts and Prezis."  Helping students find and access information is just the beginning.  Our children are learning how to become responsible digital citizens who can not only navigate a sea of information but also to critically evaluate and apply what they find.  It's always wonderful to be surrounded by my colleagues as we work together and support each other's goal to prepare our students for their futures!
 

The Elementary School Librarians of Chariho  L-R: Mrs. Mann (Ashaway School), Mrs. Ward (Richmond School), Mrs. Reiser-Jones (Charlestown School), and Mrs. Barton (Hope Valley School)

"My favorite book in the library is..."

It's still a few weeks away, but we've been spending some time in the library getting ready for Reading Week!  During class I invited each student to write about his or her favorite book that can be found in our library.  I'm planning to create a display using the titles of the books for our Pop and Swap on Tuesday, April 10th from 4-6pm.  Kids and adults can "pop in" to swap books they no longer read for different ones!  (Please send in your gently used book donations.  You can also bring them in with you the night of the swap!)  While you're there you can enjoy some popular refreshments and play some popular games!  Plus each student who attends will receive a popcorn-scented bookmark!  I look forward to seeing you there!

"My favorite book in the library is Mr. Popper's Penguins because when Popper's performing penguins saw a ladder with a board on top they get tempted to climb it and toboggan down.  Also, when they are performing around the USA, in the train they acted crazy!"

"My favorite book in the library is Scary Creatures: Hyenas because it tells you how the hyenas live in the wild and why they eat meat."

"My favorite book in the library is The Haunted School.  I like it because I like the part when Tommy knocked down a narrow board and there was an elevator.  So, he went in it, and it led down to a secret room.  I was so surprised to see what was in the room!"