January has brought lots of excitement to the library!  Students in our library are thinking about personal goals for the new year.  (see photo)

Our library shelves have gotten a new look! Students can look for a book in a new book bucket organized by subject.  Fourth graders listed the pros/cons of this system and decided it would lead to an increase in library patrons finding what they were looking for independently!

December 4th-7th was the Hour of Code from code.org.  What is the Hour of Code? "The Hour of Code started as a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify "code", to show that anybody can learn the basics, and to broaden participation in the field of computer science. It has since become a worldwide effort to celebrate computer science, starting with 1-hour coding activities but expanding to all sorts of community efforts! Over the past three years, the Hour of Code has reached tens of millions of students in 180+ countries." (www.code.org)   Hope Valley students comments included "The Hour of Code was...amazing, fantastic, exhilarating, spectacular, more than words, a dream come true, extreme, fun, creative, cool, super, thrilling, great, hard, exciting and an excellent learning experience"  I think it's safe to say, it was a winner!
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My last post highlighted grade K, 1 and 3.  So what are grades 2 and 4 up to?  Grade 4 is working on algorithms in daily life from our course in coding.  Students played the Dice Race game and had to write the directions for others after learning how the game worked.  Did your 4th grader test you with his/her algorithm?  We are also studying author and illustrator Chris van Allsburg and discussing his work.
Second grade is learning about various genres through the work of Tomie dePaola.  We had a great time looking at the country Italy from a setting in one of Tomie's books and used Google maps to see what the actual places look like. Students created his/her own map of the places the character, Big Anthony visited in the story.  There is just so much to talk about with Tomie's books! 

What's been happening in our library?  
3rd graders are learning how the books are organized in the library. Each student chose a FICTION shelf and created a Google document (navigating the Google Draw feature, editing and changing font size) and shared with me.  I printed the documents and the finished shelf signs are now proudly displayed in the library, helping all library users find what they need (21st century Standard from the American Association of School Libraries #1).

​1st graders are learning about the author and illustrator, Eric Carle.  They learned about collage and created their own piece, using paper or the computer to create on the program Paint.  The illustrations are gorgeous!

​Kindergartners are teaching their monsters to read on the computers!  They are participating in center learning, writing letters, numbers, illustrating an alphabet book, and using the iPad to learn how to use the OSMO.

We had a wonderful month of counting things we are thankful for!

 Here's some photos of our brand new Book Fair rewards!  We have 6 new yoga ball chairs, 2 movement stools, Maker Space materials, STEAM building centers and new books that are high interest, like Dog Man, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and the I Survived series.
Thank you all who participated in the fall Book Fair.  The students of Hope Valley are very excited for all these new and exciting items!

Our Back to School Book Fair was an incredible success!  Thank you to everyone who came and browsed or made a purchase.  Our school library earned so many exciting rewards- stay tuned next month when I share what's NEW thanks to all of you!  

Kindergartners begin book check out this week!  We are so very excited to check out books that are "just right"and we have learned about book care to take care of the books each week.  Students are also participating in literary discussions, finding facts in informational websites and using the desktop computers.  Students are learning to use a mouse, trackpad and left and right clicks.  One very exciting website we are using this year is called "Teach your monster to Read".   More information on this soon.

​I'm so excited to be back in our wonderful school for another year of learning in library land!
Grades 1-4 began book selection last week.  Kindergarten will learn about book care and then we will choose books in the next month or so!  There's so much to talk about in the library.  Be on the lookout for our contracts and book care bookmarks.

Our library will continue to be a place to find great books, magazines, information, collaborate on a project, use the computers or the OSMO for iPads.  Centers, STEM challenges, code.org...just some of what we will do together this year in our library.

Book Fair is coming!  Students will have the opportunity to browse or shop during library classes this year.  Beginning the week of Sept 18th, students can bring in money or checks made payable to "Chariho SAF" for books with purchase.  Students and families are also invited to shop during both nights of Open House, Sept 26th and 27th.  
Questions?  email Mrs. Ward at [email protected] 
We are very excited to have every student participate in this school reading event.

Classes in the library are exploring poetry and writing poems, with the goal to make people feel something.  All students are invited to participate in the Poetry Slam June 13th at 6pm at the Chariho High School.  

We are also creating Google Slideshows in grades 3 and 4.  Stay tuned for the finished projects!!  

4th graders voted for the RI Children's Book Award and the winner in Hope Valley is...Hilo!
The Boy Who Crashed into Earth by Judd Winick.  The statewide winner and runner up winner at Hope Valley is Sisters, by Raina Telgemeier.  Fourth graders will continue reading the books on the nominations list for our Rooster Games coming in June!!
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