FAMOUS APRIL PEOPLE

APRIL BIRTHDAYS

3 - JANE GOODALL - Anthropologist best known for her study of chimpanzees
4 - MAYA ANGELOU - Respected writer, educator and civil rights activist
5 - BOOKER T. WASHINGTON - Black leader and educator
7 - BILLIE HOLIDAY - Perhaps the greatest American jazz singer of all time
13 - THOMAS JEFFERSON - 3rd U. S. President, author of the Declaration of Independence
16 - KAREEM ABDUL JABBAR - Basketball Hall of Famer
21 - JOHN MUIR - Naturalist, conservationist and author

23 - WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE -Famous English poet and playwright

27 - CORETTA SCOTT KING - Civil rights leader, lecturer, and writer

"Our Votes Are In"

124 students from grades 3-6 took part in voting for their favorite Sunshine State Young Reader's Award book. Here are our results:

Grades 3-5 Grades 6

1st place - The Lemonade War All the Lovely Bad Ones
2nd place - Found Go Big or Go Home
3rd place - Punished Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet &
Schooled
Sometime in May the final state results will be posted and it will be very interesting to compare our top 3 choices to the entire state of Florida participants and compare the state winners. A big thank you to all the teachers, parents, and students who helped make this state reading program so successful another year. Shorecrest has been participating in this reading program for 22 years. GO CHARGERS!

Thirty-two students and 3 teachers were invited to attend a make your own ice cream sundae luncheon in honor of their accomplishments. They read 10 or more of the 15 books on this year's list and received certificates. Gold medals were awarded to anyone who read all the books on the list. Congratulations on a job well done! Reading is a sweet treat!

In Grade 2 students acted out one of the following books: The Five Chinese Brothers, The Six Chinese Brothers or The Seven Chinese Brothers. Some of the props used were Chinese hats, a Chinese umbrella, and stuffed fish. Everyone had a part and since they are studying Asia in their classrooms this lesson really fit right in.

First graders listened to the story Mr. Peabody's Apples by Madonna, which was inspired by a nearly 300-year-old story that was told to her by her Kabbalah teacher. It is about the power of words and how we must choose them carefully to avoid causing harm to others.

Students in Alpha enjoyed hearing the book entitled Guess Who, Baby Duck! by Amy Hest which was about a Baby Duck, sick with a cold on a rainy day, who is cheered up by her grandfather showing her family photographs.

In Jr. K students laughed as they heard the adventurous story of a girl and her dog who set out in their canoe one morning, only to be insistently joined by a series of animals, large and small. The book was entitled One-Dog Canoe by Mary Casanova.

Kindergarten students enjoyed seeing the illustrations and hearing the book entitled Ish by Peter H. Reynolds. It was the same book used for lower division teachers during one of our writer workshops. It opens ones eyes to something far more valuable than getting things just "right". Definitely written for all ages.
The author of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Judi Barrett also wrote The Marshmallow Incident, which is another humorous story about right- and - left handedness, marshmallows and medieval times. If you like to laugh out loud, this is the story for you.
We also continued reading Epossumondas books including the original one and Epossumondas Saves the Day. Children loved singing along whenever we read the "Sody Sallyraytus" part of the story. Just ask any K what it means and I am sure they will explain.