SPRING into SUMMER READING!
Barack and Michelle Obama Family!
by Loraine Foushee, EdS
BAMO SUMMER READING CHALLENGE
•Rising Kinder-2nd grade students:
- 10 books
•Rising 3rd-5th grade students:
- 10 chapter books
•Rising 6th grade students:
- 5 fiction books and 5 non-fiction books
USE OUR BEANSTACK (see below) APP IN MYBACKPACK TO KEEP A LOG OF THE BOOKS/ARTICLES etc. YOU HAVE READ AND REMEMBER TO TAKE YOUR AR TEST. HAPPY READING!!
APS Race2Read with Beanstack in MyBackPack
Hey BAMO FAMILY, join the "Spring into Reading" Challenge and keep reading from home! See your BAMO Reading Challenge above!
Login and register for the challenge today to do your part to create a city that reads!
YOU MAY BE PROMPTED TO LINK YOUR APS BEANSTACK ACCOUNT TO FULTON COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM, if so:
- click new account and link accounts to merge your reading logs
- this is a great feature, your reading log will now count in your APS Beanstack & FCLS Beanstack account.You don't have to log in two place!!
NOTE STUDENTS: *if needed the first time
UN: Network ID username(same as their MyBackPack login)
PW: race2read
CLICK HERE TO COMPLETE A SHORT HELEN RUFFIN READING BOWL CLUB INTEREST FORM. SEE BELOW FOR 10 AWESOME TITLES WE MUST READ THIS SUMMER!

2020-2021 HRRB Elementary School Booklist
- Creech, Sharon. (2018). Saving Winslow.
- DiCamillo, Kate. (2018). Louisiana’s Way Here.
- Kelly, Lynne. (2019). Song for a Whale.
- Korman, Gordon. (2019). The Unteachables.
- Magoon, Kekla. (2018). Season of Styx Malone.
- McDunn, Gillian. (2019). Caterpillar Summer.
- Raúf, Onjali Q. (2019). The Boy at the Back of the Class.
- Savage, Melissa. (2017). Lemons.
- Swender, Jennifer. (2019). Solving for M.
- Watson, Renée. (2019). Some Places More than Others.
Are you interested in joining our BAMO Broadcast Club? Complete the form by clicking here. Also, read all summer long and watch the TV news. This will prepare you for auditions in the Fall.
Fulton County Summer Reading Program
Access ClassPass through your MyBackPack!
Don't forget that thanks to a partnership with the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System, all Atlanta Public School students are patrons of the public library!
Access MyBackPack using your login.
Search AFPLSClassPass app, click app.
Scroll half way and click elementary school graphic.
Read and click all the apps available.
Note: some require you to create your own login and others use your students APS network id/password.
1. There is no card involved. Students use the APS username and password.
2. There are no late fees.
3. If student loses a book, the fee is a writing assignment. (only for physical book checkouts)
Class Pass allows the following checkouts:
50 books, 10 CDs, 5 DVDs
Digital apps:
Hoopla (create login) - 10 downloads per month (create an account)
Overdrive - 10 items every 30 days
Axis 360 - 5 titles per month
SEE SOME APPS BELOW
myON Keep reading on Myon through the summer! Use your credentials to access Myon through MyBackpack and you will have access to hundreds of titles on various topics. | APS District eBook ShelfTo access apps requiring username/password, use the following credentials: TumbleBook Library/Cloud Username: atlantaps Password: books Big Timber Books Username: atlantaps Password: readmore | APS eResourcesTo access apps requiring username/password, use the following credentials: World Almanac (Elem, Middle & HS) - no additional log in required Vocabulary.com - no additional log in required National Geographic Kids: Password: readmore Infobits - Password: readmore Learn360: no additional log in required Britannica Image Quest - no additional log in required Blooms Literature - no additional log in required |
myON
APS District eBook Shelf
To access apps requiring username/password, use the following credentials:
TumbleBook Library/Cloud
Username: atlantaps
Password: books
Big Timber Books
Username: atlantaps
Password: readmore
APS eResources
To access apps requiring username/password, use the following credentials:
World Almanac (Elem, Middle & HS) - no additional log in required
Vocabulary.com - no additional log in required
National Geographic Kids: Password: readmore
Infobits - Password: readmore
Learn360: no additional log in required
Britannica Image Quest - no additional log in required
Blooms Literature - no additional log in required
Georgia Library Learning Online, more commonly known as GALILEO, is a virtual library operated by the University System of Georgia. There are over 100 core databases available, offering full text access to journals, magazines, e-books, government information, primary documents, and more. Password for GALILEO is lever. | The Audible app is NOW available through MyBackPack. Students and staff have access to hundreds of titles while schools are closed. You don't have to use additional sign on credentials. Just click on the app and search for a title or browse by the topics listed on the page, select a book and begin listening. | The Accelerated Reader program through Renaissance Learning is the computer based program used by Atlanta Public Schools and BAMO to measure a student's reading comprehension. Continue to read and take AR test. FAQ: Is my book an AR book? Click HERE to find out. |
Password for GALILEO is lever.
FAQ:
Is my book an AR book? Click HERE to find out.
INFOBASE Learn 360
Teachers, students, and parents can access more than 164,000 media resources on any Internet-enabled device, anytime, anywhere, and engaging content landing pages make it easy to find the wealth of videos, interactives, printables, audio content, and maps and flags. The entire site and all landing pages can be filtered by grade level. Check it out!
Scholastic Home Base is a fun, safe, and completely free online destination where kids can create their own avatar, interact with their favorite Scholastic characters, play games, and read books. Scroll down to bottom of page and download login info.
The Carlos Museum’s annual summer reading program encourages children to maintain their reading skills. Read five books from the Summer 2020 list and email their completed Reading Diary signed by a parent by Sept. 1 will receive prizes mailed to you.
The online book club allows kids to log-in, choose books and then select prizes after successfully taking quizzes. Parents get a separate log-in for checking on their kids and to help choose books that are age-appropriate.
Earn rewards for the pages read of “Magic Tree House” books, take quizzes, collect online passport stamps and more.
Camp Google is a free interactive camp that takes place online. Geared toward kids ages 7-10, programs are led by experts and center around adventures and interactive science activities.
Read Camp is a free virtual camp for summer reading for grades K-12.
Click HERE for even more information about Read Camp with Malcolm Mitchell.
Atlanta's online guide to everything for kids, teens, & families! All of the information you need to get your kids 'out and about' to fantastic opportunities for fun, education, and cultural enrichment in our area.
Freckle is an online learning platform that allows students to practice Math and English Language Arts at their own level. Freckle continuously adapts to each student’s individual skills.
Interactive STEM and literacy-building topics boosted by Maker experiments! Keep kids and families learning together throughout the summer!
The school program runs October 1 through March 31 each year, but you can do a version at home this SUMMER. Sign up for weekly emails with summer reading activities.
The APS Summer Tech-tivities website contains resources to keep your scholor(s) engaged in digital content throughout the summer months! Provides access to Minecraft, coding, maker activities, virtual field trips, reading, and so much more.
In preparation for any emergency related school closings, Atlanta Public Schools must prepare with distance learning opportunities. This newsletter provides activities to continue learning at home.
In preparation for any emergency related school closings, Atlanta Public Schools has prepared digital learning opportunities.
Tips for Reluctant Readers:
- Pulled from: https://www.atlantaparent.com/make_reading_fun/
- Don’t get stuck on making your kids read for educational purposes. Incorporate activities that go along with what your children are into. If they’re visiting outer space in a book, make a fun, messy papier-mâché craft of the solar system, or watch a space movie. Camp outside and incorporate stargazing (search online for when planets are visible in the night sky).
- Start early. Read to your children when they are small to promote family time, word recognition and comprehension, and maybe, just maybe, a love of books. Whenever possible, read in such a way that the book scenes and characters come alive. Or try audio books, which usually have a dynamic reader.
- Get books on subjects they’re already into. Does your child love superheroes, princesses, dinosaurs, tea parties or a cartoon character? Use that to help you find books that he or she is more likely to want to read. Take children to the library or bookstore, letting them browse and choose what they would like to have.
- Schedule time around activities to sit down and share a book or read different books, but in the same room. Family-wide quiet time is often a rarity, but it doesn’t have to be if you put it on the calendar. Turn off all electronics and unplug for awhile.
Click here for more information.
USING A CELL PHONE?
myBackpack
The myBackPack portal is a 21st Century Classroom activation developed by our Instructional Technology group. It is accessible to all students in Atlanta Public Schools from any device and provides students with digital learning tools,
e-books, secure email, cloud storage and the complete Microsoft Office Suite.
To Access myBackpack:
On campus
- click myBackpack icon, myBackpack will open
- navigate to https://mybackpack.apsk12.org
- Enter the APS student computer login id
- Password: Network ID
- Username: Lunch Number (if it doesn't work, use password, as the password
- The myBackPack screen will open
- Access to all apps
- Google Classroom may ask for students email, this is the students Network ID with @apsk12.org added to the end example (jdoe1234@apsk12.org) and the password is still their lunch number!
- CLEVER app login: example(jdoe1234@student.apsk12.org) and password is lunch ID
Click play on any of the videos below for a brief tutorial.
Remember login information is above, if needed.
Bio
Loraine Foushee is a life-long learner that enjoys sharing her knowledge with individuals aspiring to reach their full potential. Loraine completed her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Media Production and her Master of Education in Instructional Technology at American InterContinental University (AIU). It was immediately after receiving her Bachelors in Media Production that Loraine started her career as a Production Technician at a market-8 News Station, CBS46 Atlanta for 6 years.
Loraine transitioned to a career in education, she shared her love of media production with high school students for 7 years. Her career has spanned Clayton County, Gwinnett County and Cobb County. Loraine completed her Specialist degree in Education with Certification in Library Media Science in 2013. She accepted her current position as the proud Media Specialist of Barack and Michelle Obama Academy in 2014.
Loraine Foushee is also an award winning video producer with more than 10 years of industry experience, founded Blame It On Loraine, A Foushee Film Company, L.L.C. in 2010. Based in the burgeoning film capital of Atlanta Georgia; Blame It On Loraine's team of videographers, editors and web designers provide the foundation of this reputable digital production firm.