December
Winter - that glorious time when it's perfectly acceptable to curl up with a book and spend a blissful afternoon, lost in another world! The display table outside the library is playing host to a collection of new books - be the first to check out a brand new story before they join their friends on the shelves!
The Global Reading Challenge is well under way, 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 there will be lunch time meetings on Fridays to keep everyone on track and to practice answering questions. 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 here: https://spl.overdrive.com/ You can also 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.
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. Or follow me on Instagram, where I post pictures of books @ Wolfpackbookbag.
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. Students 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.
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. Students will be working in groups to find out more about the countries featured in the book and then making presentations using Sway from the Office 365 suite.
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
- explore the various functions of Office 365
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 and making sure our technology lessons offer authentic opportunities to practice digital citizenship in the work we do.
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!