Author Day from the Black Lagoon!!!!
Want to order some autographed copies of Mike Thaler's books?
Complete this order form, 
attach your check/money, and send to the Library by February 2.

Edgewood's Geographic Bee

The School Geographic Bee

Friday

January 8, 2016

8:30 am

We went around the world and back again!

Congratulations to all of our participants
and our First and Second Place Winners!

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!