November - December Newsletter

The 2015 Book Fair was a huge success!

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the success of our annual book fair!  Here are some amazing statistics from our book fair:

Over $14,000 in net sales!  This translates to:

• $1,700 worth of new books for our library from the fair!  These books will be available for student check out by Christmas!
• $2,000 from scholastic for books throughout the year!  Our scholastic dollars account is how we maintain and update our library collection each year.
• $1,800 for technology for the library!  Last year we used our PTA money and money we'd earned from the book fair to purchase 15 chromebooks.
• $297 in gift certificates and thank-yous given to book fair volunteers and Library Shelf-Elves (5th & 6th grade students who volunteer in the library before school, after school or during their lunch recess)
• Over $350 worth of books purchased as gifts for teachers!  Thank you to every family that contributed to growing our classroom libraries!

Hour of Code

Thanks to Mr. Lindstrom, this year Kyffin will celebrate National Hour of Code week in December.  Hour of Code is a movement to encourage students to learn computer coding. 3rd through 6th grade classes will participate in Hour of Code activities in the library during December (and some in November as well!), as well as in some of their classrooms.  Our 6th grade classes have already been learning about coding by completing some "coding without technology" exercises.  During the week of November 16-20, 6th grade classes learned about coding by completing the "My Robotic Friend" activity in the library: one student acted as the "Robot" and the second student acted as the programmer.  The programmer had to write code that would cause the "Robot" to pick up and move the cups.  Through this activity, students learned that each command must be carefully chosen, and that computers actually aren't smarter than they are.

We encourage all families to participate in Hour of Code at home!  Check out our resources, along with some of the great things our students are doing on our Hour of Code page!

Research - let your child see you reading

When I was a kid, I remember very clearly that my dad always had a book, a newspaper or a magazine in his hands.  On Sunday evenings, we would sit down as a family to watch Murder, She Wrote* and after about 10 minutes, my dad - who was not an Angela Lansbury fan (I know...it was difficult, but I somehow survived) - would pick up his book and go to the back of the living room to read.  I remember wanting to sit with him, so I'd go back and sit next to him with my book.  At first, I would just hold the book and still watch the show, but eventually I started reading my book as well.  I truly believe that my dad instilled a deep love of reading in me simply by modeling what pleasure reading looked like.
More and more, research is showing that children who see their parents read for pleasure are twice as likely to read for pleasure themselves.  Reading to and with your children is fundamental in developing their core reading skills, but don't discount the power modeling what pleasure reading looks like - whether it be with a magazine, a newspaper, an eReader or the dogeared copy of your favorite book.
Here is a great article from the Department of Education on the many ways to encourage children to become life-long readers.

*Yes, I have seen every single episode of Murder, She Wrote.  And yes, when the marathons come on television, my sister and I binge watch them.  I learned two important lessons during my childhood: the importance of reading and that Mrs. Fletcher can solve any mystery.