Check It Out!
MTRSD Elementary Libraries- April 2023
News from the BSE Library!
It’s time for a book round-up! If your child comes home this week with a book notice, please help them look for and return the book(s) to school. If you think there may be an error, please just let me know. Thanks in advance!
Our book fair at the end of March was a success! Students and families enjoyed browsing the great selection of books, and the BSE library was able to purchase over 60 new books for our own collection using the proceeds - just amazing. A shout-out to families who donated books to classroom libraries, and a big thank you to our crew of volunteers who made it all possible!
As mentioned earlier in the year, students in grades 4/5/6 are eligible to vote for the Massachusetts Children’s Book Award. With this year’s voting period about to close, over 25 students at BSE participated by reading five or more of the nominated books - bravo to so many dedicated readers! We are all eagerly anticipating the upcoming announcement of the winning book.
April in the BSE Library looks like a wide variety of curricular activities - from digital citizenship lessons about online friendships in the upper grades, to reading and creating poetry, to programming robots (coming after the vacation). This variety of activities keeps us all on our toes, and means that there’s always something new to look forward to each week. Check out some of the books we read aloud together in March for Women’s History Month:
Colrain Central Library Update
Looking back at the month of March, I want to thank all the volunteers who helped make our book fair possible and the families and students that shopped at the book fair. Lots of students were excited about books and the book fair enabled us to purchase new books for our library. That excitement for books continues to grow as I slowly unveil some of the new book purchases to the students and make them available to check out.
April is National Poetry month and poetry books are on display and available for check out in the library. We also wrapped up the Tournament of Books and the winner was…The Shark Lady! This book is a biography of Eugenie Clark, a pioneering female scientist and advocate for sharks. You can currently find a stamp featuring her at the post office!
Our students are busy working on typing skills, Digital Citizenship, and learning about online databases. In addition, the fifth grade used some of their library time to wrap up their service-learning project to replace our school’s flags. Fifth graders are also making a difference by serving as reading buddies for the first graders.
Libraries are places where all kinds of literacy, technology, and citizenship skills are built and practiced! Remember to keep supporting your child at home to build a consistent routine for keeping track of and returning books. Also consider making it a part of your routine to ask your child about their library books and to do some reading together.
News from the Sanderson Library
March Report
March was a full and fun month in the Sanderson Library! Students in 1st through 5th grade took part in the “Battle of the Books, ” a themed, month-long book tournament that focused on C.A.R.E.S., our school-wide behavior expectations. The books sparked many rich and lively discussions about compassion, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self control. Last week, our school finally declared the winner, which was won by ONE VOTE. The winning book was One, by Kathryn Otoshi. One served as an example of assertion, with the idea that it only takes “one” to stand up for yourself or others. The second runner-up was After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again by Dan Santat, which was used as a model of self-control.
Last month Sanderson had the pleasure of welcoming author and illustrator Astrid Sheckels, who visited Kindergarten through third grade students. Ms Sheckels shared her brand new book, Hector Fox and the Map of Mystery (we were the second-ever audience to hear it!). Ms Sheckels also showed us pictures of her studio, answered many student questions, and did a drawing demonstration of Hector Fox, which she signed and gave to the school. Many students were excited to get her autograph afterward! We were so fortunate to have Ms. Sheckels at our school, and our students were respectful and welcoming hosts. Many thanks to the Mary Lyon Foundation for helping to make this event possible.
Coming Up This April
April is National Poetry Month, and we are exploring poetry in the library. First graders read Hailstones and Halibut Bones by Mary O’Neill and worked together to write a poem about color. Second graders are exploring Haiku, and will be taking a “sensory walk” around campus to inspire their own Haiku poems. Third graders will be practicing research skills to find out about Massachusetts poets, and fourth graders learned about blackout poetry and created their own blackout poems. Fifth graders are learning about odes and will practice paying tribute to everyday objects with odes of their own, and sixth graders are drawing inspiration from the poem “Where I’m From” by George Ella Lyon to write “I Am From” lines that will be compiled into a class poem. Sixth grade will also help to organize and carry out a school-wide event for National Poem in Your Pocket Day, which we will celebrate on April 28. If you would like to bring more poetry into your household, you can sign up for a “Poem of the Day” at the Poetry Foundation website.
Finally, the Sanderson Library is having a Sponsor-a-Book fundraiser to raise money for new furniture. Students can purchase bookplates that they can sign and place inside their favorite library book. Bookplates cost $5 - $20 each. Please contact Robin Wilson at rwilson@mtrsd.org for more information!
Local Public Library Events
Events at Ashfield's Belding Library
Moving Museum Pop-Up
Saturday April 8 from 11A.M. to 1P.M.
The Moving Museum will be making its third appearance at Belding Memorial Library! Led by the artist, educator, and Bread and Puppet alum Torri Lynn Ashford, children and their families will make creative magic! The Moving Museum pop-up series incorporates circus, pageantry, set building, puppets, visual art, characters, and music. All ages welcome.
Mindful Movement with local author Ms. Sue
Saturdays 11A.M. to 11:45A.M
April 1 & 15 & 29
Join us for some Mindful Moments and some fun Movements for ages 3-8. These morning sessions will be themed, based on a story or idea! Mindful Movement helps young ones learn the importance of connecting their mind, breath and body. Mindful Movement allows children to experience and understand how to be present and mindful throughout their day. It gives them tools for using their breath to calm themselves in many life situations. The yoga poses we do together helps them gain a perspective on how amazing their bodies are! Some of the themes we may visit include: being present, being kind, having compassion for oneself and others, appreciating our environment, using your imagination, finding joy, eating healthy, staying positive, being thankful, being flexible.
Events at the ARMS Library!
Craft Corner - Every Saturday
Saturdays1 - 2:30 p.m.
We will be offering a set time and place for anyone who wants to craft. Any age is welcome. The way it will work is that multiple crafts materials will be on hand, as well as someone to help or show how to do the crafts.
Upcoming Events at Buckland Public Library!
LEGOS in the Community Room
Every Friday from 4 - 6 pm our new LEGO collection is ready for builders with creative minds! Come and enjoy the newest addition to our assortment of toys and games.
"Crafternoons" Continue Every Tuesday
Crafternoons with Ms. Amy will be every Tuesday from 4:30-6:00 pm. Bring your 3-11 year old for crafts, friendship, and stories. Come for all or part of the time. Age bracket is flexible.Fiber Group Every Saturday
All fiber folks of any level are welcome. We have yarn to share donated by Webs and some of our generous neighbors and some needles you may borrow. New knitters will have the opportunity to learn to knit a scarf. Established makers can work on any projects they please. Every Saturday from 10 - 11 am
Events at Colrain's Griswold Public Library
April is National Poetry Month!
Stop by the library to check out our display of poetry books, and add a favorite poem to our "Poet Tree"!
See Ms. Betty's Take and Make April Craft:https://youtu.be/KPb_B9FJu6Q