Falmouth Elementary School Library

Mrs. Clark’s 3rd grade students have been researching animals from different biomes in the United States. Students share their knowledge about the animals they researched in the video below. Enjoy!

Fourth & fifth grade members of the Mock Newbery Book Club have been busy reading books from the reading list. Recently, members nominated their favorite titles for the short list. That meant narrowing the list from 25 books to just 8.

http://fesmocknewbery.blogspot.com/2011/12/short-list.html

During the month of December, book club members had the opportunity to meet with two authors of books that made our short list. Maine author, Jennifer Richard Jacobson, graciously agreed to come to Falmouth Elementary School to meet with book club members. Twenty students stayed after school to chat with Jennifer about her middle grade novel, Small as an Elephant. Later in the month, students Skyped with Laurel Snyder, author of Bigger Than a Bread Box.

I’d like to thank Jennifer and Laurel for taking time out of their busy schedules to talk with students about their books and their work as authors. A Mock Newbery Assembly will take place on January, 13th. The 2012 FES Mock Newbery winner and honor books will be announced at that time.

Maine author, Jennifer Richard Jacobson, met with members of the FES Mock Newbery Book Club.

November is Picture Book Month. It’s a time for people of all ages to celebrate reading picture books. It was created by a group of children’s book authors and illustrators to encourage children and adults to read picture books for pleasure.

Read more about Picture Book Month here: http://picturebookmonth.com/

Mrs. Palmer’s 3rd grade class created a video to explain why picture books are relevant and important to kids of all ages.

Eager Readers

October has been a busy month on the K-5 library. It’s great to see our students reading voraciously. We checked out 4,500 books during the month of October. Thank you to all of our volunteers who help check out books and shelve the thousands of books that were returned during the month.

iPads in the FES Library

The 2nd floor library now has a cart of iPads that students in grades 3-5 will use for research, to access the online library catalog, and for a variety of library lessons this year.

4th grade students use the iPads to look for physical characteristics & human characteristics of Maine. Students recorded their findings on a graphic organizer.

A fifth grade class researched important events from American history last week. Students used a timeline app, MARVEL (Maine’s Virtual Library) and the online library catalog using the library iPads.

Construction workers and contractors have been busy at work at the new Falmouth Elementary School Library. It is a beautiful space with lots of windows, high ceilings and a spiral staircase. Mrs. Sparks and I are almost finished unpacking and transferring all of the books to new shelves.

Library classes will begin the week of Sept. 12th. We look forward to seeing all of our students in the library each week. Here’s a video that shows the library construction from start to finish.

Enjoy!

Mrs. Potter

I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer break! I hope you’ve had time to play outside, time for visiting with friends & family, and lots of time for reading!

I recently returned from the American Library Association’s Annual Conference in New Orleans. Mrs. Becksvoort, school librarian at FMS, and Mrs. C., former children’s librarian at FML, were there too along with 15,000 librarians from around the globe.

One of the highlights of the conference was attending the Newbery/Caldecott Awards Banquet. It was a magical evening, and I can’t wait to tell you all about it in September.  Special thanks to Marshall Cavendish and New Members Round Table for providing me with the ticket to the banquet.

Here are some photos of my library adventures in New Orleans.  I look forward to seeing you all soon. Feel free to email me and tell me about the books you’ve been reading this summer (cpotter@fps.k12.me.us).

Mrs. Potter poses for a photo with Jeff Kinney and Greg Heffley (cardboard version).

Here’s a Wimpy Kid snow globe promoting book #6, Cabin Fever, which is due out Nov. 15th!

Mrs. Potter and Dan Gutman (author of My Weird School series)

Red Sox fans get ready! Dan’s next Baseball Card Adventure book, Ted and Me, is about Ted Williams!

Dan Gutman signed a book for the students at Falmouth Elementary School.

Check out the advanced copy of Wonderstruck I received at the Scholastic Brunch! Don’t worry, I’ve ordered copies for the school library.

Jenni Holm, Newbery Honor winner and author of Turtle in Paradise, has some advice for FES students.

Turtle in Paradise was a Mock Newbery Honor book in Falmouth’s first Mock Newbery program. Jenni also Skyped with students in Mrs. Brown’s class this year. Check out Falmouth Elementary School’s new Mock Newbery list. Another book by Jenni Holm made the list!

Clare Vanderpool, Winner of the 2011 Newbery Medal, signed an audio book for FES. Her next book is going to be set in Maine!

Beignets and Cafe au Lait (coffee with steamed milk)

The perfect snack after a long day at the conference!

Another school year has flown by, and it’s time for summer vacation. Vacation brings a wonderful opportunity for students to read books for pleasure. Suggested summer reading lists will be sent home during the last week of school. These lists are meant to provide students with ideas of books they might want to read over the summer. Students are invited to email me and tell me about the books they read over the summer. (cpotter@fps.k12.me.us)

Happy Reading!

Mrs. Potter

We hope you enjoy this summer reading video created by Mrs. Brown’s 3rd grade class.

Here are some tips and resources to keep your children reading over the summer:

• Visit the public library throughout the summer, and allow your child to select books that interest him or her. http://www.falmouth.lib.me.us/

• Be sure to click on the “Summer Reading” tab on this site to check out summer reading lists by grade level.                                                http://mrspotter.edublogs.org/recommended-reading-lists/

• Sign-up for the Falmouth Memorial Library summer reading program. http://www.falmouth.lib.me.us/childrens.html

• Listen to audio books together on long car rides.

• Select a book to read aloud at bedtime during the summer. Reading together in the evening is a wonderful way to end a busy, summer day!

• Take a trip to the bookstore and allow your child to select a book as a special treat.

Articles and Resources:

• Borders is giving away free books to students (age 12 and under) who read 10 books over the summer. http://www.borders.com/online/store/MediaView_doubledogdare

• TD Bank will give $10 to each student who reads 10 books over the summer. http://www.tdbank.com/summerreading/

• How to Raise a Reader This Summer

• Summer Reading Lists from Horn Book

• Penguin Books- Summer Reading Resources for Parents (Excellent resource!)

Comic Arts: Artist In-Resident, Henry Wolyniec

You could call May Comics Arts Month in the Falmouth Elementary Schools. Students in 3rd and 4th grades have been learning how to create comics in their weekly art classes with artist in-resident, Henry Wolyniec, thanks to a generous arts enrichment grant from the Falmouth Elementary School PTO.

Parents of Lunt School and Plummer-Motz students are invited to an information session about the artistic and literary value of comics and graphic novels with artist, Henry Wolyneic. Henry has been a visual artist for thirty years and has published two comic book series. He has taught art in a variety of educational venues and has worked with ages six through adults. Plummer-Motz Art Teacher, Katie Hall, and Elementary Librarian, Cathy Potter will join Henry for a discussion about comic books and graphic novels. View books from the graphic novel section of our elementary library and learn about the exciting world of comics and its powerful impact on our children.

Maine Comic Arts Festival- Sunday, May 22nd in Portland

http://mainecomicsfestival.com/

Don’t miss the Maine Comic Arts Festival on Sunday, May 22nd from 10-5 at the Ocean Gateway Terminal in Portland. Lincoln Peirce, creator of Big Nate, will be on hand as well as Andy Runton, creator of Owly, and Colleen AF Venable, author/illustrator of Guinea Pig: Pet Shop Private Eye series. There will be over 100 artists, and kids under the age of 12 are free! The Portland Public Library will be hosting free comic book workshops for families from 9-2 on Saturday, May 21st.

Be sure to check out some of these new graphic novels in the school library!

Squish: Super Amobea

Babymouse #14: Mad Scientist

Amulet Book 3: The Cloud Searchers

Zita the Spacegirl

Lunch Lady and the Summer Camp Shakedown

Students at Lunt and Plummer-Motz are traveling across the U.S. on a Reading Road Trip this spring. When students read books at home between April 29th and May 27th, they will move across the map of the U.S.

K-2 students will track their reading progress on their own U.S. maps in their reading booklets. Students in grades 3 and 4 are “traveling” as a class and will keep track of their progress on U.S. maps in their classrooms.

Reading booklets were sent home with students on Friday, April 29th. The goal of the reading program is to encourage students to read for pleasure at home. This year students will be keeping track of the books they read instead of tracking minutes. We want students to immerse themselves in books and enjoy the stories without having to focus on the clock.

Students may count books they read independently and books that are read aloud to them. Print books, e-books, and audio books all count!

Make this a family event. Read together at bedtime, visit Falmouth Memorial Library, listen to an audio book together in the car. If students have fun reading, they will be motivated to read even more!

Mrs. Potter and Mrs. Sparks have compiled lists of books from the different regions of the U.S. All of the books on the lists can be found in the school libraries. Encourage your child to check out some of these fabulous reads from across the U.S.!

Reading Regions Book List for Grades 3 & 4

Here are some candid photos taken in the library last week. It looks like a lot of students enjoyed their library books! Some of the titles students were “caught” reading include The Danger Box, The Lightning Thief graphic novel, Smile, The Search for Wondla, Zebrafish, Animal Poems by Valerie Worth, Ellie McDoodle, and The Harry Potter series of course!