Three Cheers for Volunteers!

Last Thursday we hosted a breakfast for all the fabulous volunteers at Club. We are so lucky to have hundreds of dedicated volunteers who make our Club community so special. Many of these volunteers help in the Media Center and our program could not function without them! Thanks to all volunteers who reshelve books, assist with morning check out, process new materials, work at the Book Fair, and many other things. You make our community of readers GREAT!

Our Volunteer of the Year, Jill Organ, was honored for her years of service as treasurer of the PTA and organizer of the Durham Bulls fundraiser!

This collection of books was donated in honor of Cathy Jones, a dedicated Media Center volunteer and supporter of the humanities. We will miss you, Cathy!

Colin Bootman Visits Club Boulevard

Renowned illustrator/artist Colin Bootman visited Club Boulevard this week. His visit was made possible by the Durham Public Library in celebration of National Children's Book Week.We are so grateful for this community partnership and the support of the public library!

Below is a book trailer Mr. Bootman shared for the book: The Steel Pan Man of Harlem

 Mr. Bootman shared his story with the students by taking them on a visual journey through his artwork (beginning from elementary age). He also encouraged everyone to explore their interests, whatever they may be, and to capitalize on the passion they have for those interests.

At the end, Mrs. Karlene Fyffe Phillips from the Durham Public Library spoke to the students about signing up for the DPL Summer Reading Program. The kick-off is Saturday, June 14th, from 10-1pm at Northgate Mall. We hope to see everyone there!

Día de los Niños/ Día de los libros--Children's Book Day!

Yesterday was Día de los Niños/Día de los libros--or 'Día' for short. This is a day created by famous Latina children's author Pat Mora to celebration reading in all families and across all cultures. You can find out more about Día here: http//dia.ala.org  

At Club Boulevard, I hosted a Día celebration for families who participated in the Multicultural Book Bingo reading challenge. This is a challenge I issued to all families at the beginning of April; the goal was for families to read the books together and learn about different cultures. Books are a wonderful way to for children to gain a better understanding of world culture and for students to consider all viewpoints, respect differences, and become more self-aware. Books were available for check out in our Media Center or at the Durham County Library. I also encouraged families to visit the International Children's Digital Library--an excellent resource for multicultural titles. Here is our Bingo Board:

READ a multicultural book….

written in another language.	about a Native American tribe.	that is bilingual.	set on the continent of Africa.
that is a folktale from another country.	set on the continent of Europe.	that is a trickster tale.	from your family’s heritage.
that contains a song.	that teaches you about a cultural celebration.	set on the continent of Asia.	and locate the country on a map.
set on the continent of South America.	written from a child’s point of view.	that contains a recipe.	that is a fairytale.

The families who attended the celebration enjoyed a light breakfast and circulated around 4 stations to promote books and cultural understanding. Station descriptions are below. Before leaving, each child selected a new book to keep. Thank you to Mr. Lamb, our Spanish teacher, for helping with the event!

Students used iPads to access PebbleGo's articles on Customs Around the World

Families read a folktale and looked up the country of origin in an atlas

Kids enjoyed decorating bookmarks with Dia's buzz word: "Bookjoy"

New books just waiting to be read! :)

At this station, children read a NF book and imagined what it would be like to visit that country.

At the iPad station, students created a Venn diagram to compare their family's custom to a world custom.

Mrs. Derby's 2nd grade class also completed the Bingo Board together. They visited the Media Center and I read aloud Book Fiesta!:Celebrate Book Day/Children's Day by Pat Mora.

Then they enjoyed spending time at the learning stations and also got to choose a new book. It was a fun morning of learning!

We look forward to our Día celebration next year! :)