Happy New Year StONEhedge!!!

WE’RE BAAAAACK!!! (In the library I mean…) And we couldn’t be happier! After a year of visiting classroom cohorts with carts and only checking out one book every other week, Mrs. Graser and I are thrilled to have our students back in the library, selecting their own choices off the shelves and doing all the fun things that we’ve always done IN THE LIBRARY!!!

Our library team has a new member this year. Mrs. Eichhorn retired after many years in the library, but we’re pleased to introduce Mrs. Nightingale who is learning the ropes and is already doing a great job keeping the library running smoothly!

We have already started checking out books and we are easing our way into full traditional routines. Your students come to library every week for lessons and checkout. K & 1^st grade check out one book, 2^nd grade checks out two and 3^rd & 4^th grade get to take out three items. These items are due back the following week on library day. No new books can be taken out until all of the previous books have been returned or renewed. Please ask your students which day is library day and help them remember to pack their books as needed.

We’ve been teaching many lessons about being responsible with our library books and don’t be surprised if your student tells you that they need to treat their book “like a baby”! Please help your student find a nice, safe spot for their books that is away from small children and pets. If they always put their library books in that spot, they won’t forget their books on library day and won’t miss out on new books.

We have great activities coming up as school gets into full swing, starting with “Pick a Reading Partner” month in October. The Library will be opening its doors for Open Library Nights on Wednesday, October 13th and 27th from 6:30-7:30 for family reading and bonus book check out.  We hope to see you there!

Until then, don't forget to "Read4Fun"!

Mrs. Abbott

Mrs. Graser

Mrs. Nightingale

Hello Summer!!!

 

Hello Stonehedge…I can’t believe we’re here in the last week of school! It’s been the longest year that somehow has also gone really fast. We’ve made lots of changes to get through the year, and we’ve worked together to get the job done.

Just a gentle reminder to please, please, please help your children locate any overdue library books. If you find them over the summer, hold onto them until September (or drop them at an Open Library Tuesday).

Speaking of summer, in case you missed it, here is a link to the summer reading letter and here’s a link to the Open Library flyer.

Please take advantage of the summer reading programs at our public libraries…it’s so important to keep our kids reading over the summer.

We’re excited about summer, but we’re even more excited at the thought of getting back to library in the library next September. Have a great summer and don’t forget to READ4FUN!

Mrs. Abbott

Mrs. Graser

Mrs. Eichhorn

April is Poetry Month

 

http://www.blackclassicbooks.com/black-classic-press-blog/happy-poem-in-your-pocket-day/

Happy Spring Stonehedge!

Raindrops are in the forecast for today and everyone here at Stonehedge knows that “April showers bring…Poetry!” April is National Poetry Month and we will be celebrating the written and spoken word all month. 

If that’s not cool enough, Thursday, April 29^th is National “Poem in Your Pocket Day”. On that day, it’s our tradition at Stonehedge to encourage everyone, students and staff, to find a poem they like (or even write an original), carry it in a pocket, and share it with as many people as possible.

To find some great poems for school from two of our favorite poets check out kallidakos.com and poetry4kids.com.

Another poetry tradition we have at Stonehedge is Poetrypalooza, our open mic poetry night. We couldn’t have it last year and we can’t do it the usual way this year, but we are going to have a special Covid edition “PoetrypalooZoom” at 6:30pm on April 29^th. Anyone who joins the zoom will have a chance to share a poem or two with the group. If you just want to tune and listen, you can do that too. It won’t be the same as having a stage in the cafeteria, but it will still be lots of fun. If you are interested in participating or just watching the zoom, email Mrs. Abbott at dabbott@westgenesee.org to get the zoom link.

Keep a poem in your pocket and a song in your heart…and don’t forget to READ4FUN!

Mrs. Abbott

 

Just a reminder that the “Flora and Ulysses Book to Movie Club” will meet on zoom Tuesday, March 2nd at 6:30pm. Anyone who has read the book OR watched the movie is welcome to join us. If you need the Google Classroom code in order to access the zoom link please email Mrs. Abbott at dabbott@westgenesee.org.

 

Holy Bagumba! I have great news! I just found out that one of my favorite Kate DiCamillo stories, Flora and Ulysses, has been made into a movie and will be streaming on Disney+ starting February 19^th. You know what that means…it’s time for a book club. Just like we did for Artemis Fowl and The One and Only Ivan, we’re going to offer a zoom book club. I’ll read the story in installments on zoom. If you have your own copy of the book, you can read along, if not, you can just listen in. Then we’ll have a final zoom meeting once people have had a chance to see the movie on Disney+ so that we can discuss it. The club is open to all grades, but Kate DiCamillo does love to use higher-level vocabulary, so it might be a more challenging listen for our younger friends.

Flora and Ulysses was awarded the Newbery Medal for the “most distinguished contribution to American literature for children” in 2014. It’s a quirky story of a comic book-loving girl (who says things like “Holy Bagumba!”) and a squirrel who gets sucked into a vacuum cleaner and emerges with superpowers!

Just like last time, here’s how we’ll proceed…I’ve already made a Google Classroom. If you are interested in joining us, send me an email at dabbott@westgenesee.org. I’ll send you the code for the classroom. Once you join the classroom, you’ll have access to the zoom login. Once our readers assemble we’ll announce reading sessions. I’m hoping to start reading on Monday, February 8^th.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me. I hope to hear from you soon!

Mrs. Abbott

 

Happy New (calendar) Year!

It is so nice to be back in the building after Christmas Break and we’re glad to be visiting classrooms again. Library classes are right back into their routines. We have started a research project about New York State in 4th-grade.  3rd-grade classes are exploring folktales, fables, and myths. 2nd-grade is learning to find and request books that they really want from our library catalog. 1st-grade and Kindergarten are learning about Caldecott award-winning picture books.

Now that we're back for the New Year, the library staff would like to ask for help returning overdue books. We still have quite a lot of books out from last spring when we went remote. This year, since we’ve been working from carts, we’ve been a little more lenient about letting books go out when students have overdue items. We also haven’t been sending out weekly reminders, so some students are falling behind on book returns. If your student has overdue books, please help them locate them. Books can be returned to your student’s teacher even if it’s not a library day. We’d love to get these student accounts cleaned up and the books back on the shelves so they can circulate. If you have any questions about overdue books, feel free to email me at dabbott@westgenesee.org.

Don't forget to READ4FUN!!!

Mrs. Abbott