THE RUG IS HERE!!!

Yea! We are heading in the right direction in the library!!

Geographic Bee 2016

EDGEWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GEOGRAPHIC BEE 2016

How to Qualify for the School Bee:

Each 4^th or 5^th grader will take the qualifying test

on Tuesday, December 1, 2015.

5^th grade will take the test at 10:30 am.

4^th grade will take the test at 9:30 am.

The top 8 scorers from 4^th grade and 5^th grade will be named

as the 16 participants in the School Bee.

Our School Geographic Bee is Monday, January 8, 2016.

For the Qualifying Test,

You will need to find on a map the Continents and the Major Oceans:

the Seven Continents

Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America

(The National Geographic Society considers Oceania a region rather than a continent;

therefore we will not accept Oceania as a correct answer

for the continent of Australia.)

 the Major Oceans

Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic

You will also need to know the location and major facts of:

these Countries

Germany, Greenland, Syria, Uruguay, and Papua New Guinea

and these States

California, Kansas, Michigan, New Hampshire, South Carolina

You can locate information on these topics from the following resources:

*   any general encyclopedia or atlas

*   The Alabama Virtual Library: www.avl.lib.al.us/  

*   National Geographic Bee website:

www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee/

*   CIA Factbook website:  

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html

*   World Atlas website: http://worldatlas.com

Questions? Ask Mrs. Woodruff, Geo Bee Coordinator.

Heading in the Right Direction in the Library

Big, exciting changes in the Library!!

The Alabama State Department of Education has requested that schools help ensure student privacy by removing reading level indicators from the outside of books.

As we re-label our library books by moving the reading level dots from the spine to the inside back cover, we are also using this opportunity to rearrange our Fiction. The new sections will provide greater choice and make finding books easier for our students.

We will divide our fiction books into three sections:

books with less than 35 pages;

books with 35 to 120 pages;

and books with more than 120 pages.

Within each section, there will be books on a variety of reading levels. Students can select shorter or longer books based on their interest and then check the back of the book to help determine comprehension level.

These three sections will be called by their geographical location in the Library:

Fiction Northwest (the books less than 35 pages)

Fiction West (the books from 35 to 120 pages)

and

Fiction Southwest (the books greater than 120 pages).

By sectioning our fiction books according to length, we believe students will have more choices and have an easier time finding “good fit” reads that match their interests. By naming the sections according to geographic location in the library, we will help students learn another important “directional” skill.

We look to have this project (which impacts over 7,000 books) completed by Spring of 2017…but ambitiously, we are aiming for Spring of 2016. Our PTO Library Volunteers have already helped with Phase I; we are now scheduling/planning Phase II. We will keep you up to date!

AUTHOR DAY FROM THE BLACK LAGOON!!

It's official!

Author Day
March 11, 2016
Mike Thaler
author of
The Teacher from the Black Lagoon Series
!!!!!!!!!!!
Total Excitement and Cheering!

Everybody is Checking Out!

This week we have completed our Library Orientation 

and Kindergarten has learned how to checkout a library book! 

Here's what parents need to know:

• Kindergartners may have one library book at a time. First and Second Grade may have two books; Third, Fourth, and Fifth may have three books.
• Yes, they get to take it home!
• Yes, they must bring them back and return them in order to checkout another book.
• They should keep their library books in their tote/book/bag/pack when they are not reading them. Don't leave a book on the table or the sofa because then it won't make its way back to school to get returned. 
• And don't worry. When a students says, "My mama didn't pack my library book," I remind them that their mama didn't checkout the book. Library books build responsibility!
• If a book becomes damaged, let us take care of it. Get your kid to hand the book directly to me or Mrs. Foster so that we can repair it with special library repair tools. Accidents happen! We want kids loving to read so we don't make a big deal about mistakes.
• If a book becomes lost, that happens, too. Email me and let me know. We'd rather have the book back than you pay for it, so if we know you are looking for it, your child can continue to checkout other books. If it is truly lost, we will let you know the replacement cost. 
• Choosing a library book is a 'novel' thing for our kids. Choosing a library book is one time kids actually get to make their own choice based solely on their preference! Of course this means that sometimes they bring home a book that does not fit bedtime reading. But that's OKAY! Encourage your child to 'read the pictures' with you; share what you find interesting in the book and ask what they find interesting; you might discover something new about your child!
• Enjoy! We want our students to love books, reading, and libraries!

New Library Assistant(s)!!

We are excited to welcome 

Holly Foster 

as our new Library Assistant! 

Mrs. Foster has a background in libraries and is excited about meeting our students and teachers and helping them checkout awesome books.

But the good news doesn't stop there...
we are actually adding about 250+ library assistants! Each of our 4th and 5th grade students have "adopted" a shelf in the library and will assist in keeping those books tall and in order. Ask your 4th/5th grader to explain the acronym S.T.O.R.M. and just what they'll be doing when they STORM the shelves!

Summer Reading!

Click on
The Ultimate Book List...
in the TABS across the top.

Summer is the time of year to read
whatever and
whenever and
wherever!

But finding the perfect book can be difficult.

To assist you in finding a book that is just right, please look at the right-hand tab at the top of the page: The Ultimate Book List.
Here you will find several maps to good reads.
There is a long list of book descriptions arranged by the authors's last names.
There are also several links directing you to books that are 'just like' other books.
When someone asks me to recommend a book for them, I always say, "Tell me a book you've read that you like." Then I will suggest other books that are like those...
Students at Edgewood have learned to say, "I want to read another book just like..."

While this list is long, these are not all of the books in the world. Feel free to leave me a comment as to titles that should be added! And be sure to tell me what you read this summer when we return to school for 2015-2016.