Research has been the name of the game in the library these past few months. The fifth graders are wrapping up their Jamestown research project which focused on using a variety of sources, both print and electronic,  and evaluating each source’s usefulness. Students have been very creative in the projects they created to share what they learned.

Fourth graders have focused on studying different land biomes and finding out what adaptations plants have that help them survive in their unique environments. They are working on creating video infomercials to share what they have learned with their classmates.

Third graders have been using our online library catalog to find books to read in the library. They will be using the catalog’s collection of pre-screened web sites for an upcoming research project about endangered animals. In addition to thinking about what makes these animals unique, students will begin to look at and think about who created the web sites they are using and how they can check to see if the information they are reading on the internet is reliable.

In second grade, students have just learned how to access our online library catalog and what some of the information in the catalog means. You can access the catalog at http://destiny.doversherborn.org Just click on the Pine Hill link and you will have access to the list of materials we have at Pine Hill. You will be able to check their availability. There are also several helpful links on the home page for assistance with research and homework assignments.

First graders are also in on the research game. We have kicked-off our collaborative woodland mammal research project and there is plenty of excitement in the air. Students are working with a partner as they learn beginning research skills while studying a mammal that is commonly found in our area. Students spent time thinking about what they already know about their assigned animal and are moving on to reading/listening to a nonfiction book about their animal and writing down some important facts about it.

In kindergarten students have been working on being book detectives as we read illustrations as well as the text in some Caldecott Award-winning books. Most recently we focused on books with humor in them and, as you can imagine, this was a big hit!

In addition to all of this, we have a school of readers, so talking about books, finding “just-right” books and recommending good books to each other continues to be the central focus in the library and throughout the school. I guess it isn’t a secret that I truly do have the best job in the world!!

One final note is that we are continuing our Pine Hill Wish List  through Amazon as a great way to have students take part in building the library collection. Students can donate books from the wish list to the library in honor of a teacher, a friend’s birthday, a family member or any other occasion that they’d like. A special bookplate is placed inside the book. In addition, a picture of the child with their donated book is displayed in the library and a copy is sent home with the child as a thank you! Over 70 books have been donated already this year! Thank you for your continued support and if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at ryanl@doversherborn.org.

Hooray!!! We are back in business here at the Pine Hill Library – the place is hopping! I spent some time this summer making a few improvements to the library that I have been excited to share with the students.

We now have a computer café in the library! I designed this area to be a research hub for our students with easy access to electronic, as well as print resources. Some of the shelves have been shifted around, but all of our great books are still here!

So far most of the excitement has centered on our new fish friends in the library. We have 3 new fish that will be hanging out with us. I have sent out a challenge to students to see if anyone can identify what type of fish they are. Here is a picture:

It has been great to see the students again and meet our new Pine Hill friends. A special thank you to Catherine Rocchio who organized volunteers to help in the library starting right from the first class!

Finally, I will be continuing our Pine Hill Wish List Book Donation Program which was a huge success last year. Just click on the Wish List link to find out more!

This summer has been a great one so far! I have been busy vacationing, relaxing and READING! I recently finished Peak by Rolland Smith and really enjoyed it. It’s a great story for older students full of adventure!

But my summer has not been all fun and games! This week I am taking a class on integrating the FLIP video camera into the classroom. Here is a short video I created using the FLIP and iMovie. I hope you enjoy it!

Summer Reading! from Laurie Ryan on Vimeo.

This has been a wonderful year in the Pine Hill Library! Over 200 books have been donated to the library through the Pine Hill Wish List! Thank you to everyone who has donated a book or encouraged others to donate books! Take a look at the tremendous list of books and donors posted on the wall leading to the library – Amazing!

In keeping with our tradition of selecting a summer reading genre, we are asking students to read at least one nonfiction informational book as part of their summer reading. One way to find some good choices for your students is at the upcoming Pine Hill Bookfair.

The CSA has organized a Barnes & Noble Bookfair to support our school. The Fair will be held at the Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Route 9, Shopper’s World in Framingham from Tuesday, June 7^th through Thursday, June 9^th . Students will be given a bookmark voucher in their library class that includes the Bookfair number which is #10489318. More information can be found at the CSA website. Hope to see you there!!

Another exciting piece of news for students entering grades 4 – 6 is that the Massachusetts Children’s Book Award nominees for the 2012 award have been announced. This group of 25 books has been nominated by Massachusetts teachers and students. Students entering grades 4, 5, and 6 in the fall will be eligible to vote for the award winner if they read, or hear read aloud, at least 5 of the books on the list. Each year we have many students that get involved in this program. I will be giving 3rd, 4th and 5^th grade students more details in their upcoming library classes.

Students have been doing a variety of activities in library classes over the past few weeks. Some examples are 5^th graders teaching lessons to younger students about a special picture book author and kindergarteners going on a virtual safari to Tanzania using Google Lit Trips. One highlight has been the second graders researching frogs and toads. As part of the Counties of Origin unit, students have been learning about and practicing how to take notes. In the library we used encyclopedia entries about frogs and toads to practice these skills. The students were amazingly focused and conscientious as they worked together on gathering information and comparing frogs and toads. They are now working with Mrs. Bien-Aime in the computer lab to create a project sharing what they have learned.

Finally, I also wanted to let you know about an upcoming author visit in Wellesley. Jeanne Birdsall, author of  the Penderwicks series will be reading and discussing the newest Pederwicks title, Penderwicks at Point Mouette, at Wellesley Books on June 2^nd at 4pm.

Thanks again for all of your support for the Pine Hill Library!!!!

 Things have never been more exciting here at the Pine Hill Library! Students are busy researching various topics, reading great books, talking about them and writing book reviews to be posted on the Library Catalog! As if that isn’t enough, we have surpassed our goal of 100 books for the Pine Hill Wish List Book Donation Program and have nearly 150 books that have been donated! Finally, the amazing baskets for the Kid’s Raffle are on display in the library and are generating more excitement than you can imagine!

 In library, I recently read Mo Willems’ new book, City Dog, Country Frog to the kindergarteners as the start to a mini author study. This is a great story about the seasons and friendship. The students enjoyed sharing what they know about the seasons and making predictions about the story.

In addition to reading and talking about books in library class, the first graders completed a research project on woodland animals. Through this project students learned the basics of the research process: establishing what you want to learn, finding information about the topic, thinking about what you learned and then creating something to share what you learned with others. The students created slides sharing what they learned about their assigned animal that will be put together into a final presentation to be shared with the whole class. Most recently I have been reading books from The Owl’s Nest, a special section in the library with books that may be helpful to students with the various problems and issues they may face. We read Bullies Never Win by Margery Cuyler and had a great discussion afterward!

To build on what students learned in first grade, the second graders have been looking at reference materials that are available in the school library. They have been very excited to explore print encyclopedias. While Pine Hill has a subscription to World Book Online, I am taking the time to let students get their hands on the actual books to see how they are organized. Students spent time browsing a volume, finding a topic that interested them and then sharing a couple of interesting facts with the class about their topic. Of course, we have been reading great books together as well, most recently the Caldecott Medal winner, Mirette on the High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully.

 Third graders are in the midst of their investigation of backyard birds in the classroom. They are gathering information from many different sources including encyclopedias. I have been working with students on how to take notes: read the information, think about it, write down what is important. This is difficult for many students, but with modeling and practice, they are getting the hang of it!

 Fourth graders are researching the biomes of the world and getting ready to film an infomercial about the biome they have studied to be shared with the rest of the class. This project has given me the opportunity to guide students through the research process in the library. Students have been bustling around the library, working in groups, looking for sources of information. It’s now time to tap into their creativity which should be very entertaining!

 Continuing to build research skills, the fifth graders were introduced to the online subscription databases we have on the Library Catalog site. These great tools are fun to explore and will be useful as students work on research projects or just want to find out about a topic they are curious about. In addition, Fifth graders now have their own accounts in the library system which allows them to view their account’s status, put books on hold and rate and write reviews for their favorite books. It will be great to see students make the catalog a true reflection of the readers at Pine Hill!

 Finally, thank you to all of the families who have donated books from our Pine Hill Wish List. Students are so excited to see all of the wonderful books that are donated each week. Pictures of students with the books they donated are displayed in the library. The response has been amazing!!!

These past few months have been a busy time in the Pine Hill Library. Students are excited to be using the new Destiny catalog and have made an easy transition to this new tool. Another event that has brought some excitement is Pine Hill’s Top 100 Wish List! Students and their families have donated over 50 books from the Amazon Wish List already! When a book is donated, the student’s picture is posted in the library and a special book plate is placed inside the book with the acknowledgement of the gift.  To find out more about how to participate in this wonderful event, take a look at the Library link on the Pine Hill web site.

In library classes I am continuing to work with students on developing a love of reading and the skills needed to find answers to the questions they are curious about.

Ask, Read, Think, Create, Share….

In Kindergarten we have been reading different versions of the folktale, The Little Red Hen, culminating with Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel’s version, Cook-a-Doodle-Doo! Discussing their similarities and differences has been enlightening – kindergarteners notice everything!

First graders are getting ready for their first research project, a study of woodland mammals. To prepare, we began to look closely at the features of a nonfiction book. Students will be divided into groups and assigned an animal to learn about. They will gather facts about the animal and create a project to share what they have learned. I will be working with classroom teachers, students and Mrs. Bien-Aime throughout this exciting process.

Second graders have also been taking a closer look at the features of a nonfiction book. In addition, we have been talking about selecting books that are “just right” to read. It has been fun to watch students take a closer look at books to see if they can really read and understand them. Of course, some students enjoy checking out books that they can have read to them, which is perfectly fine as well!

To tie into the third grade study of the regions of the United States, I have begun sharing tall tales from around the country. We started with two set in Tennessee, Swamp Angel by Anne Isaacs and Mary Pope Osborne’s version of Davy Crockett. Both the students and I are having a great time talking about the exaggerations in these tales as well as the sites mentioned in these stories. I have also had the pleasure of working with some of the third graders in small book groups!

Fourth and fifth grade students have been focusing on learning how to find resources in the library. The fourth graders recently completed a scavenger hunt that took them to a variety of places to search for books. They are now using the library to study different world biomes in connection to their plant unit. I have also enjoyed working with students outside of library class as they create a class wiki packed with information about explorers they have studied.

Fifth graders have been using the tools in the library to locate and evaluate a variety of sources about a topic they have chosen. The new library catalog has proven to be a great tool to steer them in the right direction. We have also taken time out to read some poetry together to help them get ready for their upcoming Beatnik Café.

Finally, I’d like to thank, once again, Catherine Rocchio and the great team of volunteers that provides consistent support, making my life here as the Pine Hill Librarian a breeze!

Patricia MacLachlan

Fri, 10/08/2010 – 4:00pm

Kate DiCamillo, America’s beloved storyteller, hosts a special presentation of the film adaptation of her classic children’s novel, Because of Winn-Dixie. The film will be followed by a Q&A session and book signing with Kate DiCamillo. (Books will be available for sale at the theater.)

 Friday, October 8

6:00 PM – 10:00 PM

Somerville Theater

55 Davis Square

Somerville, MA

Doors open at 6 PM. Film will begin promptly at 6:30 PM.

 To guarantee seats, tickets should be purchased in advance by visiting or calling:

 Porter Square Books

25 White Street

Cambridge, MA

(617) 491-2220.

$5 per person for admission to the film and author signing.

Ticket proceeds will benefit Reading Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D.)

September has been an exciting month in the Pine Hill Library. Students are back in the swing of school and eagerly looking for good books to read. They are excited about our new library catalog system, Destiny, and the library has been a busy place! Thanks to the many volunteers who have already been on the job and to Catherine Rocchio for organizing this effort!

One new program this year is our Pine Hill Library’s Top 100 Wish List which is a new way for Pine Hill families to support the library. You can purchase a book from the Pine Hill Library’s Top 100 Wish List on Amazon.com and it will be delivered to the library where a dedication book-plate will be placed in the cover. Your child’s picture will be taken with the book and displayed on the library bulletin board. Just go to the “Pine Hill’s Book Donation Program” link on the Pine Hill Library web site for details.

Another bit of exciting news is that we have a new library cataloging system, Destiny. One of the reasons this is exciting is because the catalog is web-based so it can be accessed from any computer with an internet connection. That means students can use it from home! In addition to seeing all of the wonderful print materials that are available, students have access to Webpath Express. This tool provides pre-screened websites that students can use in their quest to tackle homework assignments or find answers to questions they are curious about. Destiny is easily accessible through the “Library”  link on the Pine Hill web site.

Thanks for checking in to see what is happening in the Pine Hill Library! If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to email me!

Happy Summer Everyone!

Things here at the Pine Hill School Library are pretty quiet…I have been busy organizing our materials and planning for the upcoming school year. I am excited to report that thanks to the Dover Sherborn Education Fund, we will have a brand new cataloging system in the fall. All of the schools in the Dover-Sherborn Districts will be using Follett’s Destiny program. This is a web-based system that allows us to link all of our resources; books, e-books, websites and databases, to make an easy-to-use informative interface for students and teachers.

I hope that you have been enjoying your summer and that you have been reading some great books! I can’t wait to hear about them when school begins in a few weeks! I have enjoyed reading many of the titles in the list of Massachusetts Book Award nominees. Most of these books are just right for students in grades 4 -6. Take a look at the Pine Hill Library website for information on this program and other suggested reading booklists.

Finally, I am very excited to be announcing a new way for Pine Hill families to support the school library through the Pine Hill Library’s Terrific Top 100 Wish List on Amazon.com! Details are at the Pine Hill Library website and include a Birthday Book donation program.

I’m looking forward to seeing you all in a few weeks. In the meantime, keep reading!!!