1st Grade is a Buzz!

First graders in Ms. Noble's class visited the Media Center as part of their insect unit. Partners worked together to research information about the habitat of their insect. The information collected will become part of a book the students are writing about their insect.

We used laptops to access PebbleGo, a non-fiction database that is wonderful for young students because of its clean interface, organized information, simple navigation, and audio features. The students were 'abuzz' with excitement and learning during their visit!

Summer Reading Celebration!

I had so much fun celebrating yesterday with the students in 1st-5th grade who turned in proof of summer reading to me. Anna Cromwell, director of children's services at the DCL Main branch, was our featured guest and storyteller. In the first session she told a funny story to our 1st-3rd graders based on the book Turkey Trouble by Wendy J. Silvano.

Then students played Book Character Pictionary and had the opportunity to win small prizes from Mrs. Cromwell. Any student who did not win a prize can stop by the main library anytime and pick one out from the treasure chest! 

After that, each student chose a book to keep (from Mrs. Husketh) and received a book mark and reading certificate. 

In the second session, Mrs. Cromwell spoke to our 4-5th graders about the importance of reading to be successful in high school and college. Then she read 1 minute mysteries and the students worked together with their team to solve the mysteries. Problem-solving was a must for this activity!

Next, the students chose a book to keep, bookmark, and received a reading certificate. There were lots of smiling faces!

To see more photos from our awesome event, watch the Animoto slideshow below!

Author of the Month

We are starting a new tradition at Club this year--Author of the Month! This literacy initiative is intended to unite the school by fostering discussion among students and staff in all grades/disciplines and encourage students to read outside of their preferred genre. Our AOM for September is Kevin Henkes. Visit his website for great info about his writing, characters, activities, recipes and more: http://www.kevinhenkes.com/. He is most known for his picture books featuring mouse characters like Lilly and the Purple Plastic Purse, Wemberly Worried, Owen, and my personal favorite, Chrysanthemum.

We have 19 Kevin Henkes titles (in English and Spanish) in the Media Center and students have really enjoyed reading them! So far the total number of check-outs is 35 !

Several mornings each week, Mrs. James shares information about Kevin Henkes, his characters, and what inspires him to write. He had this to say about how he creates his stories: "Books begin with character; character is the seed from which a book grows." We hope the students at Club will take his advice when creating their own stories this year!

Watch the video below to see Kevin Henkes in his studio and learn more about his writing process.

Manatee Manners in the Media Center

I had so much fun working with 4th graders during their back to school orientations in the Media Center last week! To review our Manatee Manners, students worked in collaborative groups to create a skit that illustrates one of the manatee manners and how it applies in the Media Center.

Before we began, we discussed the words in this Wordle and why they are SO important to keep in mind when working in a group. Do you agree?



One observant student noticed the title of the Wordle was "Collaboration" and noted that all four words together equal collaboration. Wow, I was impressed!

Below are examples of the videos that each group created. We all agreed that most of these skits could fall under more than 1 of the Manatee Manners. 3rd grade students will watch these videos and try to guess which Manatee Manner they are showing. Great job, actors! You collaborated and had fun at the same time :)

I am a learner

I am responsible



I am a problem-solver



I am safe



I am respectful

Open House :)

It was great to see so many students and families tonight at Open House! I loved hearing about all the books you read over the summer--I know you kept your brain fueled while you were away from Club :) Welcome to our new families; I hope you will feel at home in the Media Center. Seeing all the familiar faces, receiving warm hugs, and connecting with new manatees has been the highlight of my week!

Fourth graders excited to check out books!

Connecting with other readers through Destiny Quest (and also teaching dads how to do it!)

Welcome back, Manatees!

I hope everyone had a wonderful summer! We've been working hard at school to prepare for your arrival. I hope you will stop by and visit me in the Media Center during Open House tomorrow from 4-6pm. Check out a few pictures below to see what I did on my summer vacation! I spent a lot of time traveling to visit family and friends in Ohio, Tennessee, and Florida. My husband and I also took a trip to Seattle, WA, and Vancouver, B.C. It was a busy, relaxing summer but I missed my awesome readers :)

We hiked up many mountains on our trip to the Pacific Northwest!

I loved taking my sweet Ollie for long walks :)

And of course I read a TON!!

I can't wait to hear about your summer adventures and what you've been reading! See you soon!

Battle of the Books!

Our 4th and 5th grade Battle of the Books team competed in the district competition on Friday, April 19. These students have been meeting weekly in the Media Center to read and discuss books from EBOB state list. Although our team was comprised of 30 students, only 12 were selected to compete against teams from other elementary schools in Durham. The students represented Club Boulevard well and we had a great time!

Please enjoy a slideshow below of all the reasons that this year's team enjoyed Battle of the Books.