April 
We have a wonderful collection of poetry and books in verse at Montlake and the table outside the library is playing host to a small selection. Check out a book, or visit the 811 section in the carpet corner!
The votes are in for the 2018 Sasquatch Award! The 4th and 5th grade students have been reading and discussing the nominees for this year and after counting the votes, we have a clear winner. Dan Gemeinhart's heartbreaking survival story, The Honest Truth, is the Montlake choice.
Watch this space to find out if other students in WA State sh
are our opinion.
To find out how the other titles fared, check out the results posted outside the library.
We are also in the midst of voting for the Montlake pick for Washington Children's
Choice Picture Book Award. Keep checking back to find out which of the 20 wonderful books was voted our favorite.
Using SPS Resources at home - a guide to help remind you how to log on to your office account.
Have you signed up for Schoology? This useful SPS resource offers powerful new technology at all grade levels to organize content, engage students, and connect to families. Find out how it works here.
The second graders are keeping me busy updating the Otter Wall of Fame display board outside the library and now there are 2 first graders joining the celebration! If your K-2 student has been reading those Otter Award books, remind them to turn in the Sign up sheet!
Digital Citizens
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 with all students throughout the year.
Students in grades 1 and 2 are making use of computers and learning how to log in using their own SPS account. They have created, saved and edited documents on their Office 365 accounts and they have discovered the joys of learning to type by using the SPS resource, Typing Agent. Follow this link for a guide to help remind you how to log on to your office account at home.
Kindergarten students will learn about about visiting online sites that are safe for them. We will visit two sites in class and students can come to this page to view those websites at home.
Find out about animals at the San Diego zoo site and visit the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan from the comfort of your couch!
Here are some more videos that our Kindergarten students will be viewing as part of our lessons:
What is the Internet?
What is personal information?
Follow the digital trail.
In the upper grades we have been talking about online etiquette and cyber bullying. This has a real world application because the students are making use of Schoology to upload assignments, make comments and join in discussions about the Sasquatch nominees. Common Sense Media has a guide for parents.
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).
Volunteer opportunities include shelving, check in/out, book repair, special projects!