Camp Read-a-Lot

[gallery]1st Graders kicked off their Camp Read-a-Lot celebration by coming to a campfire sing along in the Media Center. Students, teachers, and even a few parents dressed up as their favorite book character! Individual classes visited the Media Center throughout the day to hear a favorite spooky tale told by Miss Stitsinger. Children sat in tents while a glowing fire crackled in the background. What a fun way to celebrate books and reading!

Picasso Poetry

After researching Pablo Picasso's life and visiting his exhibit at the Nasher Art Museum, Mrs. Harrison's 4th grade students chose one painting that interested them and wrote a poem in response to the painting. Please enjoy the students' readings of their poetry while standing in front of the painting that inspired them!

Summer Reading Stars!

These star readers went above and beyond this summer by either participating in the Durham public library's summer reading program or the DPS Summer reading initiative. The students kept track of their reading and then turned in their reading log to Miss Stitsinger during the first week of school. Today the students were recognized by Mr. Copeland on the morning announcements and came to the Media Center to receive their prizes. Each student was awarded a certificate, a gold medal, a bookmark, and a book to keep! Congratulations to these students who made reading an important part of their summer! :)

Summer Reading with Durham READS

Congratulations to 70 of our fourth and fifth graders who participated in a summer reading program sponsored by Communites in Schools of Durham (http://www.cisdurham.org/). These students were mailed 10 books over the course of the summer and they wrote postcards after finishing each book to tell about their reading. The students celebrated their hard work today with pizza in the Media Center. They were also awarded a gold medal for their success! Thank you Communities in Schools for this wonderful opportunity!

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Welcome back!

Welcome back Club Blvd. families! I can't wait to hear about all the great books you read over the summer :) This school year will be the best one yet in the Media Center! Our school theme this year is Metamorphosis and I am amazed each year at how much our students grow and change as readers. I know this year will be no exception!

Just a few quick reminders... Open circulation occurs each day for students from 8:45-9:05am and 3-3:30pm. Parents may also come in with their child before or after school to check out books. I am looking for volunteers to help reshelve books and work on other small projects. Ideally it would be great to have one person for each day of the week! So far, I have one person committed to Mondays. Our students love to read and I usually can't get the books back on the shelves fast enough. ANY help is greatly appreciated!

Battle of the Books

On Tuesday, May 5th, Club's 5th grade Battle of the Books team competed in the district competition at the Staff Development Center. These students read 12 novels this year and met every other Friday in the Media Center to discuss the books and prepare for the battle. The team place second after losing by just a few points to Pearsontown in the tie-breaker round. Congratulations to these students for all their hard work and accomplishments!

Club Hoops

On Monday, March 23, Club's faculty took on George Watts in a basketball game at DSA to raise money for the PTA. Many families from both schools came out to support their teachers, staff, and principals. A good time was had by all!

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District Technology Showcase

Two groups of Club students presented their work with technology at the DPS Educational Technology Showcase on March 19th. The Showcase featured dozens of exhibits that illustrated to parents and other attendees the infusion of technology in virtually every aspect of instruction across the district.  Our second graders displayed their "Mixbooks"--online books they created after researching an animal's habitat and life cycle. Our fifth graders talked to parents about the Wiki they used to help them prepare for the Battle of the Books competition.

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Pictures from Washington, D.C.

Check out these pictures from the fifth grade field trip to Washington, D.C. A few of the highlights were our visits to the Capitol Building, Library of Congress, Union Station, the Whitehouse, several monuments, and the museums on the Mall.

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5th grade to Washington, D.C.!

Last week our fifth graders had the amazing opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C. One of the highlights of the trip was our visit to the Whitehouse and the students were buzzing with excitement! Listen as a few of our students answer the following questions: "If you could ask President Obama one question, what would it be?" and "What would you tell the President about Club Boulevard School?"

Kindergarteners love books!

Listen as students from Mrs. Reuther's kindergarten class share why they like the Media Center and why they like reading!

Second Grade Electives

Second graders have participated in a wide range of electives  on Friday afternoons so far this year. Thanks to all the parents who have volunteered their time and talents to teach a class! Take a look at the pictures from the electives Miss Stitsinger has taught: cooking, team-building, library scavenger hunt, and line dancing. Who knows what will be next?!

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Inventors Research

Mrs. Archer's class visited the Media Center last week to research information about inventors. First, students learned about the wonderful online resources available  free to NC students on NCWiseOwl. Then students got to work using books and Grolier Online Encyclopedia to complete their research.

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Author Studies

A group of second graders each completed an author study on one of the following authors: Chris Van Allsburg, Mark Teague, David Wiesner, Patricia Polacco, and Audrey Wood. Check out the pictures below that show the students presenting posters they made to promote their author's work. Then watch as each student creates a commercial to promote his/her author's books!

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5th gd. Inauguration Celebration!

The 5th grade presented an Inauguration Celebration on Thursday, Jan. 22. Their model of Washington DC was complete with presentations of the national museums of Air and Space, Art, Natural History and American History. The presentations were followed by a concert by Sea Cow (a fabulous local rock band) with Club's own Sea Calves. A great time was had by all! If you weren't able to attend the celebration, check out the pictures below!

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1st gd. Ocean Animal Research

Each student chose one ocean animal to research and then compared his/her animal to another student's animal using a Venn Diagram. The students then presented their information to each other and we hung their diagrams in the front hallway.

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