It's Wednesday! What's happening in the AME Library?

 Our Second Annual AME Read-Aloud Marathon began yesterday!

We have read-alouds at the top of every hour, 8a through 2p, via Google Meet.  Yesterday's guest readers were a freshman from Westwood High School, the Westwood librarians, and staff members--Ms Brown, Ms Foster (the IB coordinator), and Ms Margocs.  Today we are hosting two school board members--Ms Weir and Ms Vessa, as well as more staff members.  Several classes are joining us each hour to hear great stories.

The big event today is our book bag distribution!

EVERY scholar on our campus is getting a book, scented bookmark, and RROCKREADS pencil.  This is possible due to the generosity of

• Our RRISD Library Services Department
• Donations to our AME Library eWallet during Book Fair
• Book Fair proceeds
• PJ Hoover, a local author
• Parent Support Services
• Our wonderful AME PTA--especially the George and Dancer families

Our goal is to promote the love of learning and literacy--building home libraries is a great place to start!

Dillo Readers, enjoy your new books.  Have a safe, happy, and healthy Winter Break!  We'll see you in the library in 2022.

It's Monday! What are you reading?

 We celebrate Christmas in our house, and with only eleven days to go, it seems like the to-do list keeps getting longer and longer with tighter and tighter deadlines.  There are school tasks that have to be done by the end of the week before Winter Break starts, and there are home tasks like baking and shopping and mailing gifts by December 21st.  

In other words, I need this book right now.

Calm Christmas and a Happy New Year: A Little Book of Festive Joy by Beth Kempton is a quiet place to be in the midst of the holiday hubbub.  It's a small, unintimidating book that is perfect for bedtime reading, soothing my frazzled holiday nerves and reminding me that I don't have to do everything--just the things that bring me joy. 

It's Monday, and I'm reading a different kind of Christmas book this week.  What are you reading that makes you feel peaceful and ready to celebrate the season?

It's Wednesday! What's going on in the AME Library?

We still have a lot of new books waiting to be checked out!  Ms Margocs unboxed the last shipment, and here are some of the new additions to our collection:

It is checkout week for first through fifth grades.  Students with clear accounts--no overdues or bills from this school year--can check out books for winter break.  (We have books for those who may not have clear accounts, too.)  Please do your best to keep your library books in the same safe place each week so you can bring them back and get new ones!

PreK and kindergarten classes are helping Ms Margocs read wordless books this week:

PreK is reading Wolf in the Snow by Matthew Cordell.

Kindergarten is going on a Hike, by illustrator Pete Oswald.

Wordless books help build vocabulary, visual literacy, and oral communication; illustrate story sequencing; and are great prompts for student writing.

Next week is our second annual AME Read-Aloud Marathon!

We are soliciting readers from our learning community to share their favorite books at the top of each hour throughout our school day, next Tuesday through Thursday.  Twenty-one read-alouds in three days!  Ms Margocs will be hosting the read-alouds via Meet, so we won't have regular library visits.  Students who need to clear their accounts or refresh their books before break may come in small groups during their regular library times.  We will also be distributing a special gift to each student courtesy of the AME Library, Library Services, PTA, and our Parent Support program!

Keep on reading, Dillos!

It's Wednesday! What's going on in the AME Library?

Holiday books are on display, and our scholars are excited to check them out!

We are on the quick downhill slide to Winter Break:

This week:  Lessons and read-alouds

Next week:  Read-alouds for PK-K, checkout for 1st through 5th grades

Last week of semester:  Checkouts only for students who need to refresh books.  2nd Annual AME Read-Aloud Marathon Tuesday through Thursday!  Also...a surprise gift for every scholar from AME Library/ AME PTA/ AME Parent Support!

Please note:  Scholars need to clear ALL overdues and/or pay for lost books from this school year in order to check out books for Winter Break.  Scholars received an email in their student account if they have overdue books.  Scholars can also check their account by logging into the online catalog using their s-number without the s as the username and password.

This week's read-alouds and lessons:

PreK is listening to a nonfiction book about the changes winter brings.

Kindergarten, first, and second graders are making text-to-self connections and discussing favorite foods as we read Every Night is Pizza Night, a Texas 2x2 book.

Third, fourth, and fifth graders are looking for text features in nonfiction books aligned with their classroom studies.

Schlitterbahn's Waves of Pages reading program has begun!  Reading logs will be going home this week.  Students have until February 7th to log ten hours of reading and receive a free ticket to the Schlitterbahn waterpark in New Braunfels.

Enjoy our holiday book selection, Dillo Readers!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

Welcome back from Fall Break, Dillo Readers!  It's my favorite time of the year to revisit stories and books I love.  Here are some from my personal shelves that I'll be reading at home this season:

I'm also reading a couple of books on Advent; these are more for adults:

It's Monday, and I'm pulling out some of my holiday books to revisit over the next few weeks.  What are your favorite holiday and winter stories?

It's Wednesday! What's happening in the AME Library?

Thanks again for supporting the library through our Fall Scholastic Book Fair!  The finances from the fair are wrapping up, and we are very happy with the results.  Ms Margocs was able to take $1100 in cash and another 270 Scholastic Dollars to spend on books and supplies.  The cash will help pay for author visits, Bluebonnet Reading Program supplies, and professional development opportunities. 

We have even MORE new books arriving in the library!

We are very fortunate to live in a school district that provides every campus with book funds every school year.

We have generous authors living in our district, too!  PJ Hoover dropped off some copies of one of her books for a special project we'll have in December.  Thank you so much, Ms Hoover!

Read-alouds this week:

PreK is thinking about all the good things people do every day, as we read Good People Everywhere by Lynea Gillen, illustrated by Kristina Swarner. 

Kindergarten and second graders are comparing Little Red Riding Hood to Federico and the Wolf, one of our Armadillo Readers' Choice books.

First graders are discussing the importance of teamwork and creative ways to use boxes with Boxitects by Kim Smith.

Lessons this week:

Third graders are exploring our databases!  Each scholar is assigned a database and given ten minutes or so to explore what it has to offer, then report back to the class about what they've discovered.  Scholars were given the password sheet for the databases to use at home earlier this semester; extra copies are available in the library.

Fourth and fifth graders are practicing their email etiquette by following proper form in an email to their teacher.  We are also emphasizing good digital citizenship; once emails are sent, they belong to the recipient, so it's wise to be mindful of what we write.

We are asking students to return long-overdue books from this past semester before checking out new books for Fall Break.  Please help keep our collection in good shape by taking care of your books and returning them when they are due!

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving, Dillo Readers!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

Conversation with a student in the hallway one afternoon--

Student:  Wait, you're the librarian, right?

Me:  Yes.....

Student:  So, you get to be in the library all day, with all those books.

Me:  Yes....

Student:  So, you get to read them whenever you want.  Like check them out and take them home to read.

Me:  Pretty much, yes.

Student:  Wow.

Me:  I know, right?  Pretty cool.  Best job on campus!

That's exactly what I did on Friday--take home a brand new book that I just had to read before putting it on the shelf.

First of all, look at that cover!  The colors are brilliant, and now that I've read a bit of the novel, fit the important details of the story. 

The dust jacket blurb immediately brought to mind The Giver by Lois Lowry--but Donna Barba Higuera takes us even further into the sci-fi realm by sending us into space, onto another planet.  Halley's Comet has changed course and is about to impact Earth;  The Last Cuentista is Petra Peña, almost thirteen, leaving behind her beloved storyteller grandmother as her family boards a spaceship to safety.  Their destination lies three hundred and eighty years away.  Will she be able to remember the stories, the ones the Collective are trying to purge?

The beginning of the story moves quickly; I'm only a few chapters in, and Petra is already buckled into her stasis pod and blasting off.  But she is awake, when she should be asleep...

It's Monday, and I'm reading sci-fi, one of my favorite genres.  What book has you staying up past your bedtime these days?

It's Wednesday! What's happening in the AME Library?

We have even MORE new books to add to our collection!  

Our Bluebonnet readers will be happy to see a few more copies of this year's nominees in our Bluebonnet display:

This is a checkout week, which means our first through fifth grades get the entire half hour of their library time to find good fit books and start reading them!  We are ALL working on building our reading stamina, including Ms Margocs.  

Our read-alouds this week:

PreK is listening to Sort It By Color, aligning with their classroom learning. 

Kindergarteners are exploring creativity and problem solving with Boxitects by Kim Smith:

Ms Margocs will be wrapping up our Fall Scholastic Book Fair details and will share the results next week!

Library events to keep on your radar:

Schlitterbahn's Waves of Pages Reading Program is BACK!  We will begin our reading window on November 29th when we return from Fall Break.  Please look for the details to be shared by teachers and on the library website.

Our December Read-Aloud Marathon was such a hit last year that we are doing it again!  Ms Margocs will be soliciting readers to fill our top-of-the-hour time slots from 8a to 2p for the last three days of school before Winter Break.  In 2020 we had two RRISD School Board Trustees, a Grisham Middle School assistant principal, several teachers, our Library Services Director, and AME Administrators sharing their favorite read-alouds with our scholars.

Enjoy checking out our newest books this week, Dillo Readers!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

 It's been awhile since I tackled poetry written by and for adults.  I've had this book on my wishlist for awhile, and decided it was time to purchase it.

I said "tackle" because some of the entries take me back to Honors English classes, picking apart obscure language, verses and stanzas trying to understand a poet's message.  I may even need to keep a dictionary by the bedside as well to aid my deciphering!  I won't let the verbiage deter me, though.  The editor states that the poems were chosen specifically for each season, each month, and so I am eager to find the connections between the words on the page and the immediate world outside.

It's Monday, and I'm exploring poetry before bedtime!  Do you have a preferred genre to read before falling asleep?

It's Wednesday! What's happening in the AME Library?

Our in-person Fall Scholastic Book Fair has come to a close, but the online book fair continues through November 8th!  Books make great holiday gifts, and your purchase benefits our library program and our scholars.  Click here to shop!

A big THANK YOU goes out to the volunteers who helped with our book fair parent event last Thursday!  The Leclercq, George, and Dancer families, along with our parent support specialist Jackie Cyriac, donated their time and talent while assisting Ms Margocs with setup, monitoring, and returning cases and books to the library.

Now that we've changed back from bookstore to library, we are having class visits again.  Here are this week's read-alouds and lessons:

Read-Alouds

PreK is thinking about feelings, and learning that we can have more than one at a time, as we listen to Theo's Mood by Maryann Cocca-Leffler.

Kindergarten classes are learning about fairy tales in class, and enjoying the bilingual The Three Billy Goats Buenos in the story castle:

First graders are also talking about fairy tales in their classes, so we are comparing Federico and the Wolf with the traditional Little Red Riding Hood story.  It's also an Armadillo Readers' Choice nominee:

Second grade classes are focusing on characters as Ms Margocs reads Saturday by Oge Mora, another Armadillo Readers' Choice book:

Lessons

Third through fifth grades are bringing their laptops to the library to practice logging in to MackinVIA and checking out ebooks using search limiters.  They do not count against our checkout limits in the library, so they are a great resource if you finish reading your books from the shelves, or can't find what you're looking for in our physical collection.

Our displays for the month of November include historical fiction, along with books on Thanksgiving, Diwali, Veterans Day, fall, food and families.

AND, we just received our first big book order of the school year--one hundred seventy-seven new books for our shelves!

Glad to have you back in the library this week, Dillo Readers!