I could not have said it better!

All About Them Books!

I’m not sure where the year went. Lots of books were circulated in both libraries. Resources were introduced for the first time to third grade and reintroduced to others. Usernames and passwords were given out and forgotten. The computer lab, Chromebook, and iPads were regular supplies this year. Stories were still read. We had two successful book fairs. And sometimes the best lessons were when discussions from books took off on a life of their own. My two favorites were the Civil Rights Movement and bees!

Inventory has begun in both libraries. If your student has not already done so, please help them to return library materials as soon as possible. Inventory helps to make sure books are organized in their proper place on the respective shelves, and locate “lost” or “missing” books that may have inadvertently ended up back on the shelf without being checked in properly.

Although the FA Libraries are putting checkouts on hold for the summer, we do have a small collection of ebooks that can found by going to go.follett.com. Put our school location and go from there. Your student will need to log on with their respective Follett Destiny Quest username and password, which grades 3up should know. Follett is doing some enhancements this week, so I am waiting for a new set of instructions.

Central Rappahannock Public Library is holding their annual summer programs at their headquarters branch as well as neighborhood branches. Please go to their website for more information. I will be sharing their Youtube promo to the LS students this week.

Although the Fifth Grade is moving across the breezeway, I will see them frequently as I go back and forth between this library and the MS Library. I will continue to see them in Falcon Club if they are not playing a sport or extracurricular activity. For my young students and families who are moving on to other schools and adventures, I will miss them a great deal.

Have a wonderful and relaxing summer!

We are in full spring mode in the library. After months of snow, award winning books, research, and great historical reads, we are moving on to books about planting, endangered species, biomes, and spring. 4th and 5th grade students continue to bring Chrome books and iPads to the library to use for information, research, and to consult the library catalog. Currently, we are learning together how to access electronic books from the catalog. 3rd grade goes to the lab to use Encyclopedia Britannica online for supplemental information regarding their animal subjects. For the youngest students we will continue to read seasonal stories.

As the year begins to wind down, I would like to place a book review in the students digital portfolios. It is also time to begin thinking about lost and damaged books. There are some students that need to start thinking about replacing a missing library book. From time to time, I send overdue reports. If your student has not returned a book, please expect to see these notices more frequently. Thank you for helping your student be diligent regarding book returns.

It has been a wonderful year. Your students are asking great questions. The older students, in addition to learning about information skills are great helpers to the program. June will be here before we know it.

Just wanted to post about a special event at the Spring Book Fair, which is coming up May 4-8th.

I’m not sure if our new families and youngest students are aware, but a few years ago, our own LS Spanish teacher, Senora Higgs wrote a children’s book called Big Meadows: A Place in Shenandoah National Park and her photographer friend Terry Crider did the accompanying photography. Mrs. Higgs and Mrs. Crider will be on hand, date TBA, to talk and read their book. The book will be available for purchase and they will sign copies.  Please support our teacher/author! More details soon.

Please sign up to volunteer for our annual Spring Book Fair, May 4-8! We are excited to bring the love of reading to you and your children via Bookworm Central. This would be a great time to add to your home book collection for the summer. 

1. Click this link to go to our invitation page on VolunteerSpot: http://vols.pt/8nUK7d 
2. Enter your email address: (You will NOT need to register an account on VolunteerSpot) 
3. Sign up! Choose your spots – VolunteerSpot will send you an automated confirmation and reminders. Easy! 
Please note: VolunteerSpot does not share your email address with anyone. If you prefer not to use your email address, please contact me and I can sign you up manually: catkins@fredericksburgacademy.org. 

What do I do?
This library book is 42
Years overdue.
I admit that it’s mine
But I can’t pay the fine–
Should I turn it in
Or hide it again?
What do I do?
What do I do?

–Shel Silverstein

It has been a while since I have printed overdue notices. This year, the copiers hang up the print job when printing these notices in PDF form. I asked Mrs. Redding to print them for me in the MS Library. I’m not sure why I did not think of that before. We are currently in the process of having these notices sent in email format. This will allow us to send notices more frequently and not have to waste paper or deal with printer/copier difficulties.

I will be sending notices home tomorrow. Please check in your child’s folder or backpack and inquire if he or she received a “Notice: Overdue Materials, Unpaid Fines” notice. This is just to serve as a reminder. I know that some parents have contacted me regarding overdue materials. Please keep searching for those items. If a book is permanently lost, it does have to be replaced. I prefer not to bill parents unless absolutely necessary at the end of the year. If a book has been damaged, I would like for that book to be paid for as soon as possible, since that item will no longer be used by the library. If you believe your child has received a notice in error, please let me or Mrs. Redding know as soon as possible.

As posted in the previous blog update, there has been a lot of mention of the Youth Media Awards during the past few weeks in all library classes. http://ilovelibraries.org/booklovers/youth-media-awards

With the primary grades the award focus is on the illustrations. This is made possible with the Caldecott Medal as well as the King Illustrator Award. The King Award also is great for our studies on Martin Luther King, Jr. and sliding into February which is also Black or African American History Month. In the older grades, study is more about the writing. There is the Newbery Medal for writing and the King Author Award, which takes us right into February. When Fourth Grade begins to study inventions, I will cover the Sibert Award which is given for nonfiction books.

In addition to awards, in the primary grades, there is still lots of seasonal stories about winter, and special days such as Groundhog Day, owls, Chinese New Year, and National Dental Month among others. The focal point of library classes in Fourth and Fifth Grade  continues to be about locating information, historical fiction, and using resources and information for academic and leisure pursuits.