It is hard to believe that we have started the last month of school! There has been a lot happening around Pine Hill and in the Media Center. We’ve wrapped up two reading projects. The first is the Read-to-Feed Read-a-thon that some the 4th graders participated in. Students volunteered to collect donations for the books they read over a set period of time. The students that participated helped raise over $1,150 for The Heifer International Organization!
We also wrapped up this year’s Massachusetts Children’s Book Award program. Several students in 4th and 5th grade elected to read at least 5 of the nominated books and voted for their favorite. We had a few favorites in our school, but The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart was this year’s winner. The new list of nominees for the 2009 – 2010 MCBA program is out. Students who will be entering 4th and 5th grade can get started on some of these great books as part of their summer reading. I will fill them in with details of the program when we start school in the fall.
In addition to reading The MCBA books, which is voluntary, all students are asked to read at least one historical fiction book over the summer. If you are looking for ideas, I have compiled a Historical Fiction Summer Reading List which can be found on our school’s web site under Library News.
To further promote a love of reading, the 1st graders investigated several dog characters as we shared some fun stories in library class. Martha and Gloria were among our favorites, but Carl was the 1st grade’s “Top Dog”!
As if that isn’t enough excitement, we have started to use the Flip video cameras that were purchased thanks to a CSA grant. Students in Ms. Ryan’s 4th grade class created a presentation of their original poetry that includes videos of students reading their poems. Ms. Mackay’s 3rd graders made commercials about each region of the United States. They enjoyed watching their videos and learning from each other’s commercials. Thank you CSA!!!
Some of the classes were treated to a guest reader during their library class. Senator Brown stopped by to read to the students and stress the importance of reading. He did a great job involving the students in the stories he shared.
Finally, students have been working on their research and inquiry skills. The 2nd graders learned about note taking while researching frogs and toads. They then used these skills as they learned about their countries of origin. The 5th graders continued to build on their skills as they worked on a cetacean research project. Ms. Darrah and I refreshed their memories about note taking and the steps of the research process and taught them about citing their sources.
In closing I would like to once again thank the wonderful volunteers that show up in the library each day. Without them I would not be able to provide all of these fun learning opportunities for students! A special thanks to Josephine Starr for taking on the task of organizing and scheduling volunteers. It has been a very smooth year!
