Castle Hills Library Newsletter
May 2016
The 2015-16 school year is quickly coming to an end! All library books are due by May 9th. Please help your students find and return their books so we can be ready for 2016-17. Thank you! Books are available in our Overdrive collection all year long! Students log in using their student ID. Parents may sign up for an account in the library.
In April, we held our sixth annual bookmark contest to celebrate how our school community shines through reading. In honor of our new Lighthouse status, our theme this year was "Libraries Light the Way". The judges had a difficult choice to make with all the creative entries. We would like to thank each student for their hard work! Our winning bookmarks belong to Allison E. (Kindergarten), Zara G. (First Grade), Sarah W. (Second Grade), Sarah L. (Third Grade), Berkley H. (Fourth Grade) and Nathan S. (Fifth Grade). We will be making prints of each bookmark to distribute to all students on their grade level.
During National Poetry Month, grade levels were busy creating a variety of poems. Kindergarteners wrote acrostic poems about spring, plants, April and Fiesta. In an acrostic poem, the first letter of each line spells out a word, or topic. Each line in the poem describes the topic. First graders wrote cinquain poems. A cinquain poem is a five-lined poem that does not rhyme. The poem is made up of a one word noun, adjectives, verbs, a short idea about the topic, and a synonym. Second graders wrote bio-poems about themselves.
Second graders read traditional and fractured fairy tales throughout the year. On April 8th, each student took a qualifying test. The top 4 scores in each class became the class team. Each team consisted of 3 members and an alternate. The teams showcased their knowledge during the Fairy Tale Bowl on Thursday, April 14th. It was a very close battle with only 10 points separating the teams' final scores! We would like to congratulate each student on all their hard work! Each child who read or were read the fairy tales is a winner! The team who took the trophy was Mrs. Cisneros' team: Elizabeth Y., Zara R., Emma B. and Meredith W! The trophy will be displayed in the classroom until next year's battle.
Third and fourth graders have been preparing for their Battles by reading their Battle books. Each third and fourth grader took the qualifying test on April 25th. Class teams have been established and showcased their hard work with a friendly competition. The Fourth Grade Battle was held on May 3rd. Congratulations to Team McFadden: Tommy Y., Kaylee V., Parker T. and Martin P! Our winning Fourth Grade team will compete in the District Battle on May 23rd. The Third Grade Battle happened May 6th. Congratulations to Team Schilhab: Bella C., Thomas M., Stone F. and Bryan K! All of our teams were fabulous!
2016 Winning Bookmarks
2016 Bookmark Designers
Fairy Tale Battle
Million Minute Reading Challenge
Congratulations, Roadrunner Readers! We are millionaires! We reached our goal to read one million minutes by April 1st! As of May 1st, we have read 1,212,187 minutes! That is an amazing 41 hours of reading (outside of school) per student at Castle Hills! Way to go!
Totals for the year, as of May 1st:
Kindergarten read 127,413 minutes.
First Grade read 117,339 minutes.
Second Grade read 231,925 minutes.
Third Grade read 299,874 minutes.
Fourth Grade read 196,804 minutes.
Fifth Grade read 238,832 minutes.
Every student received a "Millionaire" spirit stick. We will have a day to celebrate all of our victories on May 24th! Let the journey continue!
Earth Day Displays
Kindergarten Poetry
First Grade Poetry
Fourth Grade Battle
Leaders Past and Present
Third Grade Battle
UPCOMING EVENTS
May 9th: All library books are due.
May 13th: Reading Restaurant for Kindergarten and First Grade.
May 23rd: District Fourth Grade Battle of Books at Wetmore ES.
May 24th: Celebration Day!