Tuesday, March 31, 2009

KCLS Library Card Contest

If you're in 3rd-12th grades and would like a chance to design the new King County Library System card, you're in luck! They are running a contest during the month of April. Entry forms are available in the school library or at any KCLS branch. Happy drawing!

Monday, March 23, 2009

ReadKiddoRead

Want to find a great site full of wonderful books for all ages? You need look no farther than ReadKiddoRead!

This easy-to-navigate site has books organized by age (birth to teen) and genre. Click on a cover and you'll find a short review as well as additional reading suggestions that are similar to your choice.

There are also links so you can find your book at your nearest public library or independent bookseller, as well as other sources.

With all that to offer, this site is almost as much fun as browsing on a real bookshelf!

Friday, March 20, 2009

The University Book Store Bookmark Contest

Maybe you've seen your student come home from school with colorful bookmarks featuring kids' artwork? University Book Store runs an annual bookmark contest for students in grades K-8. Winners will be chosen in several grade divisions and these talented artists will have their work printed up as bookmarks!

We will be handing out entry forms and information sheets in the school library starting on Monday, March 23rd. Any student interested in entering may take one home. The deadline is Friday, April 24th!

Entries may be submitted in person at any UBS branch or mailed to:

Kids Books
University Book Store
4326 University Way NE
Seattle, WA 98105-1009

Please do not send completed entry forms to school.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

You Wouldn't Want To Be... Without These Books!

The You Wouldn't Want To Be series makes history into something a bit more fun than you might remember from your school days. Certainly they're more interesting than anything I was given as a child. I was firmly convinced - until age 16 or so, when a wonderful teacher convinced me otherwise - that history was dreadfully boring. If only they'd had a series like this!

Aimed at grades 3-6, this series, which takes the reader through some of history's most dangerous, difficult and just plain gross episodes, is good enough to be used as part of the standard history curriculum in many British primary schools. Yet it is appealing enough - with plenty of colorful cartoon-style art and humor - that my students clamor to read them just for fun.

Check them out at your local public library and find out why you too wouldn't want to be a polar explorer, a Victorian servant, a crusader, a builder on the Great Wall of China, and (as they say) much, much more!

Friday, March 6, 2009

Video interview with Antonio Sacre

Enjoy this interview with Antonio Sacre, the storyteller who will be at our school on Monday and Tuesday of next week!

http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-US&vid=fe16d984-66c1-4ee4-bbaa-33f43868e08d

Monday, March 2, 2009

Antonio Sacre is coming to OWS/Vista!

In 2007 I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee. I brought my then 10-year-old daughter with me and we had a ball!

One of the best performers we saw was Antonio Sacre, a bilingual Cuban/Irish American actor, author and storyteller. My first thought was that I had to bring this guy to our school! So many of the themes he talked about would resonate with the families in our community.

So, eighteen months and a lot of emails later, I am pleased to announce that Antonio will in fact be coming up here from Los Angeles! Along with KCLS and several other PNAIS schools, we are hosting his visit to the Seattle area next week.

On Monday and Tuesday, March 9th and 10th, he will be doing assemblies and workshops with OWS and Vista students. The evening of March 10th, the PA will be hosting a family event with Antonio. It will be different from the activities he is doing with students during the day, so please mark it on your calendars and plan to be there. It is a rare opportunity to meet a gifted storyteller who will help you draw on your own family's heritage to pass on priceless stories to your children.