Wescott LMC

We loved having Ms. Sarah from the NPL last week to talk to the kids about the Summer Reading Program! Click here for more information, click here for the flyer, and click here for the video.

It’s that time of year again – time to collect library books before summer break! Mrs. Marsh recreated Shel Silverstein’s overdue poem and illustration for our bulletin board! All books are due on 5/21!

Yes, it is already time to schedule Ms. Sarah from the NPL to talk to the kids about the Summer Reading Program! Every year Wescott has had more students sign up for and complete the Winter AND Summer Reading Programs than any other school in the area! This is due to our great working relationship with Ms. Sarah!

All meetings will be over Zoom from 9-9:15 am.

• Mon 5/17 – 1st
• Tues 5/18 – 2nd
• Thur 5/19 – 3rd
• Mon 5/20 – 4th
• Tue 5/21 – 5th

The voters have spoken and we have the winners of our Book Madness tournaments! Grades 1-2 picked Can I Be Your Dog? by Troy Cummings and Grades 3-5 picked The One and Only series by Katherine Applegate!

Poetry Cafe is one of our favorite times of the year! At the end of April, we usually host a poetry reading for each class in the library. Mrs. Marsh goes all-out on decorations, which are made with help from the students. The library is transformed!

With Covid precautions, we know we can’t have the same type of event this year, but we still have a GREAT idea! We are going to SOAR away on poetry this April! The week before Poetry Cafe (which is usually the last week of April), students will be making kite decorations for their classrooms. We will use the kites to transform the space for the Poetry Cafe the following week.

Check out these resources:

• Visit womenshistorymonth.gov
• Check out the Women’s History Teaching Resources from the Library of Congress
• Watch a short video about Women’s History Month from PBS Learning Media, or check out their other resources.Check out this Women’s History Month collection on Epic.
• Check out a biography on an influential woman from history from the library! 

Exciting news!! Author Kate Hannigan will be visiting Wescott & Willowbrook 3rd-graders virtually on Tuesday March 16th from 1-2! Hannigan is the author of The Great Chicago Fire: Rising from the Ashes graphic novel, which ties in PERFECTLY with the 3rd-grade Chicago history unit.

Please click here to order an autographed copy of one of Kate Hannigan’s books. Please take special note of the delivery and ordering instructions: https://www.thebookstall.com/kate-hannigan-visits-wescott-and-willowbrook-schools

The Book Madness nominations for grades 3-5 are coming in and the brackets will be decided this weekend! The tournament opens next week for voting in grades 3rd-5th. The kids will be voting once a week until we have a champion! Check the grades 3-5 Book Madness Website for the brackets and voting results or the physical bracket outside the library.

Our mini-version of Book Madness for grades 1-2 was a HUGE hit with the kids last year, so Lisa Wolf and I are partnering again this year! It will be run through the Book Madness Website I built for grades 1-2. Students will nominate books for the tournament next week during library, then Lisa and I will set the brackets and voting will take place the following week. The brackets will be in the hall near the 2nd-grade classrooms

The Youth Media Awards were recently announced! Check out the winners!

• When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller won the Newbery award for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature.

• The Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children went to We Are Water Protectors, illustrated by Michaela Goade, written by Carole Lindstrom.

• Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award recognizing an African-American author went to Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson.
  

• Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award went to R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul illustrated by Frank Morrison written by Carole Boston Weatherford.
  

• Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award for the most distinguished informational book for children: Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera, written by Candace Fleming and illustrated by Eric Rohmann.
  

Read more details and learn about the honor winners here. Check the winners out from our catalog here (I will be ordering copies of any books we do not yet own).

Check out some resources …

• Contemporary Images for Black History Month from Scholastic
• Here is some background info on Black History Month from teaching tolerance.org
• Here is a short video about Black History Month from PBS Learning Media
• Here is an article on the controversy of Black History Month from teacinghistory.org – THIS MIGHT BE GOOD ISSUE FOR 5th GRADERS DOING PERSUASIVE WRITING TO EXPLORE
• Kids Discover has a number of resources, on topics such as the Civil Rights Movement, MLK, & Rosa Parks.
  
• Check our catalog for books about notable African Americans