CASTLE Herald

If you'd like to earn a Library Lunch-with-a-Friend Pass, find and read some biographies in February! Fill out this February Reading Challenge Page, and bring it to Mrs. Daniels by Friday, February 24, 2023.

To celebrate Black History Month, Flocabulary is hosting a Black History rap-writing contest. Write a rap about an important Black American who deserves to have their own Flocabulary lesson. With adult permission, click here to learn more or click the 2023 Black History Month Rap Contest Packet to get step-by-step directions. Be sure to also read the Official Contest Rules, too.

Submit before 2/28/2023.

Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) and PBS Kids are hosting a writing competition for students in Kindergarten, First, Second, and Third grades. With an adult, visit this PBS KIDS Writer's Contest page to get an entry form and to read the official rules. All entries must be postmarked by April 14, 2023. View last year's winners here.

To celebrate Wild Bird Feeding Month, watch this STEM video for how to Build a Bird Feeder to Study Birds. With an adult, use materials from home to build a bird feeder. Then, fill it with seeds and water. Test out different types of seeds to see which ones the birds like best. Watch for birds and document which ones visit your yard. Observe: What time of day do birds visit your feeder? Analyze: Is there a pattern to the times they visit?

Our in-person, Spring, Literati Book Fair will be March 2 - 9, 2023! Your child will bring home more information mid-February. If you'd like to volunteer for our in-person fair, please click HERE.

Our online fair is active beginning February 1st by visiting https://efairs.literati.com/. Search for Sharon Elementary (Suwanee), if you want to take a sneak peek and/or order before the fair at school.

World Read Aloud Day is Wednesday, February 1st! Our Sharon Elementary staff and students will be celebrating with activities and stories read aloud during school. Families can build connections with their children by reading together at home, too.

LitWorld.org, Scholastic, and Story Voice have teamed up to provide authors to read aloud, beginning January 31st! You can view the full schedule here. Be sure to use #WorldReadAloudDay and #SharonStrong to share your favorite read-aloud moments! For Instagram, you can tag @Scholasticinc, @Litworld, @sharoncastlelibrary, and/or @sharonelementaryschool.

If needed, here are some read aloud tips and strategies from Scholastic.

Click on the link below to find out about the exciting events happening at our local, Sharon Forks Public Library this month. Celebrate Black Heritage through storytelling, learn about creatures that crawl, creep, and slither with Smithgall Woods Regional Education Center, and more!

Elementary January Events Calendar

Students in grades 2 - 5 each receive a county digital citizenship lesson on the importance of giving credit to content creators such as authors, illustrators, artists, musicians, etc. These annual, scaffolded lessons focus on what plagiarism is and how to avoid it by citing your source(s). This article: Be a Good Digital Citizen: Help Your Kids Understand Copyright, Fair Use, Plagiarism, and More can give adults some insight into what your child is learning about through these lessons.