November 
It is Native American heritage month following on from Indigenous People's Day, (October 8) so you'll find some books on that theme on the black book stand. One title that you won't find is How I Became a Ghost, by Tim Tingle, because it is one of the Global Reading Challenge books! More information about that below!
We are also thinking about those who have served in the military as we observe Veterans Day. I will be reading stories about Veterans and encouraging students to check out books that may be a window into another life.
Events!
On Monday, October 15th, our K-2 students had the pleasure of a visit from Korean author, Yangsook Choi, who talked about how she writes and creates her illustrations while listening to inspiring music. You can find her ice dragon drawing on the wall outside room 3.
The Global Reading Challenge is off to a great start, with 7 teams of eager students signed up to participate in this fun, team building, reading event. We have enlisted the help of 3 UW Library Media students to help mentor our teams and I'll be contacting parents who said they'd like to help to set up times that would work for them and class teachers. Seattle Public libraries have managed to acquire unlimited audio book license for The Red Pencil. This means that anyone with a library card can download and listen to this audio book whenever they want to, until March 19. No holds, no waiting. Details and big splashy feature here: https://spl.overdrive.com/ You can also always access it through the catalog: https://seattle.bibliocommons.com/item/show/3023761030 If you need help downloading it on your devices, please visit your local branch. Watch this space for more information or email me with questions.
On Friday, October 26th we welcomed acclaimed, storyteller, Roger Fernandes to our school. He shared stories and songs with the whole school in the gym and our students did an excellent job of giving him a respectful and warm Montlake welcome. Ask your child to retell one of the stories Roger shared with us.
It makes me very happy to offer the library as a space for students to congregate during morning recess. As you can see, it's a place for quietly reading, sharing a book with friends, working on homework together or participating in the Great Puzzle Challenge. The team of 5th grade library helpers work to collect books and check them back into the library - I couldn't manage without their help.
The Great Puzzle Challenge is well under way! Some
elementary schools in the district are participating in a puzzle contest
to see which school has the Ultimate Puzzle Masters! Next
time you're in the building, pop into the library and put a few more
pieces into place. Ask your student or any of the staff for more
information. All are welcome to join in the fun!
Here are some of my recent reads. Click on the book cover if you'd like to read a review and then maybe you could check it out from our library. Happy Reading!
If you're in need of some more book suggestions, try visiting this link and entering the title of a book you've enjoyed.
I love our Sasquatch lunch time book group gatherings! Students eat lunch in the library and chat about the latest nominee. We will be taking a little hiatus from our meetings while we focus our attention on Global Reading Challenge. Instead, I'll be hosting a lunch time read aloud, during which students can eat lunch while I read one of the GRC titles, The Red Pencil, by Andrea Davis Pinkney. You can still contribute to the Sasquatch conversations on schoology.
The Towner Award nominees are on display in the library and our 3rd through 5th graders have already begun to take a closer look in order to cast their votes for a winner.
You can watch a video about the bald eagle featured in Beauty and the Beak here.
We will be exploring a new online resource Britannica as we read the Towner nominee, This is How We Do It. You can find explore this resource by logging on with the active directory, or visiting the link to online resources on the right of this page.
Our K-2 students are enjoying the 20 titles selected in the 2019 Washington Children's Choice Picture book category. I'll be reading those to our younger students and inviting the older Wolves to see what they think of this year's selection.
Next time you're in the building, come upstairs and check out the Otter Wall of fame! We already have a few names on the wall - students who read all 6 nominees for the Otter Award. 
Technology
Students will learn how to:
- log on to computers using their unique username
- create a password
- find books using the library catalog
- access online resources at school and at home
- navigate schoology (3 - 5th grade)
- participate in coding through code.org
- engage in lessons to foster digital citizenship
Digital Citizenship
Montlake students are digital natives and our job is to help them navigate that world in a safe and responsible way. To that end, I will be using the Common Sense Media curriculum and other resources with all students throughout the year.
Volunteer Information:
Volunteers keep our program going. In order to provide students with the highest quality of educational experiences it is necessary to rely on volunteers to support some of the ongoing non-student contact tasks like shelving of titles. If you are interested in attending and assisting in the library while your child is (or isn't) present please email Ms Rueth (dmrueth@seattleschools.org). Make sure you complete the required paperwork with Ms. Tiffany in the front office.
Volunteer opportunities include shelving, check in/out, book repair, special projects!