A School full of SUPERHEROES

Our Elementary school wide theme this year (2016-2017) is superheroes.  The halls are decorated, the superhero curtains are up and superheroes themselves are walking the halls.  So I decided to start the library off with the superhero theme as well.  We made a stand up superhero that students can stand behind to take their picture.

Each student was able to take their picture home, and we hung some on the wall with reminders of "Super Library Manners"
I started the year reading "Superheroes ABC's" and "Ten Rules of being a Superhero".  Students made superheroes out of tongue depressors and reviewed how to be a super friend in the library.

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NEW BEGINNINGS AT CRETE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

This summer was a time for new beginnings at Crete Public Schools.  With our new high school opening this last January, the summer was a time to reorganized the rest of the buildings.  My role will be changing as I will be the school librarian at the K-2 Elementary Building in the mornings, and will be at the 3-5 Intermediate Building in the afternoons.  So my summer was spent sorting, organizing and preparing to split our libraries.

The Intermediate School was fortunate enough, to be able to purchase a entire start up collection of books (about 6,000).  We placed the order in February and the books arrived July 1st.  So most of the month of July was spent opening boxes and thinking about arranging the books in both building.

After hours and hours both libraries are arranged and ready for business.  I am looking forward to my new adventure as a school librarian in 2 amazing places!

Reading is the "THING" to Do!

We celebrated Read Across America Day 2016 (Dr Seuss' Birthday) using the theme "Reading is the THING to Do".  Everyone at Crete Elementary was asked to wear a red shirt and then we attached a Thing # onto their shirt.  We had around 765 "Things" walking around the school.  Mrs. Gonzalez and Mrs. Wendelin went all out and dressed like Thing One and Thing Two.

 

All classes were assigned a buddy reading classroom and our whole school read to each other to start the day.  It was fun to see all the things (teachers, students, custodians, secretaries, kitchen) participate in Read Across America Day.

Crocodile Research

One of the Golden Sower books this year is "My Crocodile Does Not Bite" by Joe Kulka.  After reading this clever book, our first graders read some non-fiction (both books and online) about crocodiles. We then wrote a crocodile fact on a small square and then put all the facts together to form a factual reptile.  Both 2nd and 3rd graders enjoyed reading the various facts about crocodiles that 1st graders had written.  Some facts that I found interesting were: 

• They drag their food to the bottom of the river to eat it.  
• Crocodiles teeth are the same shape and they swallow their food whole.  
• Crocodiles can hear their babies inside their eggs.

Peace, Love, Books

Every February the Scholastic book fair comes to Crete Elementary.  This year the theme of the book fair was Peace, Love, Books. 

We started to advertise out in the front case with some tie dye background.  All students were given the Scholastic book fair flyer to share with their family and we all watched the book fair commercials the week before the fair.  As always the book fair raises lots of excitement here at the Elementary.

I have to thank Michelle and Gloria for all their help in making the book fair a success. They really got into it with their costumes.  In getting in the mood, we wore tie dye shirts 2 days, watched the lava lamp and listened to 60's music.  Get your groove on and keep reading!

MLK Day of Service

For the past few years our school has participated in Martin Luther King's Day of Service.  In January we spend an afternoon tying blankets (with the help of the Doane Track and Field Team) and then donate the blankets.  This year the People's City Mission of Lincoln, Blue River Family Center, Saline County Sheriff's Dept. and many other groups were the recipients of the blankets.  The blankets will be given to needy families in our community.  CCLC was intrigual in organizing this event, as well as the canned food drive that was happening this same week.  Around 2000 food items were donated along with 250 blankets.  My favorite part of the assembly was seeing all 650 students sitting together in the gym in their MLK t-shirts and singing our school song "Proud".  This makes me proud to be part of such a giving school.

Finding Winnie

I think I may have found my new favorite book.  In December I bought the book "Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear" written by Lindsay Mattick.  I was so intrigued by the factual information in the book, I went online to find more information on the real Winnie.  There were many websites that shared facts from Winnie's life at the White River Train station, to Canada, to overseas and finally the London zoo.
Our fourth grade students need to practice their typing skills, so I thought this was a perfect chance for them to type up a paragraph sharing what they learned about Winnie.  The first day we read the book then wrote out facts that we wanted to include in our paper, the second day we spent the whole classtime typing.  Then the fourth graders found a picture to go with their paper, and on the final day they created a yellow portfolio with their work inside.  I was proud of what they were able to share, yet I wish we would have spent more time editing to make it more reader friendly.