Library Log

Friends of the Library:
Three cheers for the Library Volunteers.  As they well know, my days would be much different without their help.  Our library volunteers do an amazing job helping students locate and select books.  Our volunteers are busy shelving, creating displays, assisting with check-in and check-out, straightening...(the list goes on).  
A huge thank you to all of you:
Laurie Eckman, Richard Eckman, Steve Huston, Elizabeth Sheiman, Janet DiGangi, Kristin Wethern, Julie Laverde, Jill Ross, Suzi Pahl, Angela Patrick, Suzanne Tees, Marianne Chin, Kathryn Ring, Laurie Walker, Melissa Nelson, Shailajah Prasannan, Beth Riley, Karen Cook, Mika Thomas, Sherri Curley, Deena Baldino--  and all of the other folks who just stop in when they have a few extra minutes.  The kids absolutely love having you here.  We are able to reach so many kids with your work in the library.

Read-A-Thon:
The Read-A-Thon is in full swing and the library is happy to be involved.  All students logged 25 minutes of reading time in the library last week.  The Kindergarten and 1st grade students were treated to some incredible "Guest Readers".  Thank you to Jayne Calkins, Lynette Carney, Steven Miller, Kathryn Ring, Julie Colin-Thome, Katherine Burns, Suzanne Tees and Susan Ellis for sharing some of their favorite stories with us!  Grades 2-5 used the time for independent reading.  It was silent in here as the kids settled in to a comfortable spot and relaxed with books.  Each student received a book mark noting their reading time.  These can be added to their master tally sheet.  Well done everyone.  Keep on reading.  Many of you are nearing your personal goal!

What else?
We are diving into some longer read-aloud books and working on illustration boards.  The Westing Game, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, Dear Mr. Henshaw- among others.  We have had some great discussions this week as we read, compare and analyze Fairy Tales-- how authors use elements of fairy tales to create new stories with a twist.  Jon Scieszka is an amazing author who puts a spin on the traditional tales that we are familiar with.  The True Story of the Three Little Pigs (from the wolf's point of view), The Frog Prince Continued (what happens when they don't live so happily ever after) and the Stinky Cheese Man.

I am enjoying getting to know all the kids here at Forest Park.

Definition of the Month:

Dewey decimal system
noun
1.  A system used in libraries for the classification of books and other publications. It uses the numbers 000 to 999 to cover the general fields of knowledge and subdivides each field by the use of decimals and letters. Named after its inventor, Melvil Dewey.

**The Dewey decimal system is the way that Forest Park Elementary organizes all non-fiction books**