JANUARY JOYS!

JANUARY 'S FAMOUS PEOPLE

Betsy Ross - Jan. 1, 1752 - According to legend, creator of the first American flag under instructions from George Washington
Sir Isaac Newton - Jan. 4, 1643 - Discoverer of the law of universal gravitation and co-founder of calculus
Elvis Presley - Jan. 8, 1935 - American rock singer
Martin Luther King, Jr. - Jan. 15, 1929 -Civil rights leader; winner of 1964 Nobel Peace Prize
Benjamin Franklin - Jan. 17, 1706 - American statesman, inventor, diplomat, publisher, author, and scientist
Bessie Coleman - Jan. 26, 1893 -Black female aviator
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Jan. 27, 1756 -Composer of over 600 musical compositions
Franklin D. Roosevelt - Jan. 30, 1882 -32nd U. S. President, elected four times
Jackie Robinson - Jan. 31, 1919 - First black baseball player to enter the professional major leagues




AUTHOR VISIT

Award-winning author, Michael Patrick O'Neill will be visiting our school on Monday, February 1, 2010. His books are on display in the media center for you to view. The topics are all related to ocean life and since he takes his own photographs while diving, the illustrations are just remarkable. Please feel free to stop by and look at his work. We are all looking forward to his visit.

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Students in Grades Jr. K, K, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd spent their class lesson in the library reading the author's books and admiring the illustrations. They worked in teams to read all 6 titles and prepared some interesting questions for our guest on Monday.

In the Alpha class, the students heard the book The Birthday Box by Leslie Patricelli which was filled with imagination. Ask your child what you can do with a box?

Students are in for a wonderful week ahead as we celebrate reading. Our theme is Shorecrest Gets A "Charge" out of Reading. I am looking forward to Tuesday when your children dress up in their favorite book character outfits. Make sure they carry the book that they have picked to do this activity, so we all can learn about new book characters and the titles of those books. On Thursday I will be doing a Reader's Theater with an opossum themed book and can't wait to see the children in action.

HAPPY NEW YEAR in the media center!

January's Birthdays

January 2 - Isaac Asimov
3 - J.R.R. Tolkien
4 - Phyllis Reynold Naylor
6 - Carl Sandburg
9 - Clyde Robet Bulla
13 - Michael Bond
18 - A.A. Milne (Winnie the Pooh)
27 - Lewis Carroll
29 - Bill Peet (author & illustrator)
Rosemary Wells



www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=6779573453399081857

AUTHOR VISIT

Award-winning author, Michael Patrick O'Neill will be visiting our school on Monday, February 1, 2010. His books are on display in the media center for you to view. The topics are all related to ocean life and since he takes his own photographs while diving, the illustrations are just remarkable. Please feel free to stop by and look at his work. Order forms have been sent home and can be returned to your child's classroom teacher or to Mrs. Smay in the media center. We are all looking forward to his visit.

First graders started the year off with the story Listen to the Wind:the story of Dr. Greg & Three Cups of Tea.* This is the story of Greg Mortenson's first buiding project in Pakistan. It is one of the eight books students will read for this year's Florida Reading Association Children's Book Contest. After the students listen to all the titles, they vote for their favorite and receive several prizes. All the votes from the students in grades Alpha-Grade 2 will be sent to the Department of Education and we will find out in the spring what book is the winner. The author will receive an award based on the votes from the students who participated. This is the only contest which allows children to vote and their vote does count. I am so proud of our voters.
*The chronicle of his entire incredible experience, Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time, has been a consistent New York Times bestseller and has sold over 1.2 million copies.

Third graders worked in teams and read the books by upcoming author Michael Patrick O'Neill. They each did an oral presentation to the rest of the class and stated a fact or two that they learned from their book. In this way the entire class learned valuable information from all the titles. They are now thinking about some interesting questions to ask the author when he visits our school on Feb. 1.

In the Alpha class students listened to the book Snow Friends by M. Christina Butler and Tina Macnaughton. It was about a bear, an otter, a rabbit, snowmen and the theme was friendship.

Kindergarteners also explored the books by Michael Patrick O'Neill by working in groups after listening to one of the titles. They are excited about meeting the person who actually took
all those beautiful, underwater photos.

In Jr. K. the students listened to the book Snow by Cynthia Rylant, which celebrates the beauty of a snowfall and its happy effects on children.