More Coding!

Second and third graders have been coding this week. Programming the lights on the Georgia Christmas tree in Washington, D.C. has been one of their favorite things. To see some of their pictures, scroll down to the December 10th entry.
In case you want to try this yourself, here is the web address to code the tree.

New Books, Databases and E-books!

We have lots of "presents" for our students and teachers! I just finished entering over a hundred new books that I purchased at the Scholastic Book Warehouse on Saturday. Some are already on the shelves and the rest will be as soon as we finish processing them. The titles have been added to the "New Books December 2014" resource list on Destiny Quest. There are over 200 new books on this month's list!!! Thanks to our PTA for funding this purchase!

We also now have two more awesome research databases - PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next. Students and teachers were asked to compare and help make the purchase decision (see entries about this below). You can connect to both of these databases either through the school website under "Quick Links" or through the home page on Destiny Quest (click "exit" then "home").

We also will soon have new e-books (electronic books) that can be accessed through Destiny Quest. These books all have unlimited access which means there are no limits on how many students or teachers can use them at one time - isn't that great? I was awarded a matching grant so I was able to purchase 42 new ebooks for the price of 21. As soon as we receive the computer records for the new ebooks, I will add them to a resource list - "New E-books" to make them easier to find in the system. Of course, just entering "ebooks" in the Destiny Quest search box will find ALL of our ebooks - so if your child is looking for something to read over the holidays, don't forget these books can be downloaded to your computer, tablet or phone and can then be read off-line. Students may check out as many ebooks as they like and they will automatically "return" to our library after two weeks - they are NEVER late - how cool is that? Again, thanks to out PTA for purchasing these e-books for our students and teachers!

Julie Cook's Visit

Author Julia Cook visited K - 3 in the media center at Brookwood today.  We enjoyed the stories and books she shared with us and learned some important lessons along the way. We liked the way students followed her instructions when leaving the media center, too - you could have heard a pin drop as all of the students and teachers excited back to their rooms! Be sure and ask your child about the program.  Orders for her books will be accepted until December 18th.  (Remember - free shipping and no tax when you place your order through the school.)  Mrs.Cook will autograph the books (and her dogs will, too, if you check that box) and mail the books to us after the Christmas break.  If you need an order form, either send a note to the media center or print one from her website: www.juliacook.com

 

Hour of Code

4th and 5th graders are participating in the Hour of Code in the media center this week. (Other grades may do this later, but they have been preparing for our author visit with Julia Cook.)  The purpose behind the Hour of Code is to expose students to coding and to generate interest in future careers in  computer science. I provided lots of choices for trying coding, but one of the favorites seemed to be programming lights for the Georgia Christmas tree near the White House in Washington, D.C.  The programs the students wrote for the lights will actually run and they were given the date and time that their program would be used when they submitted their finished program - how cool is that?!?!?

Keep checking back for more pictures after 4th grade classes on Friday.

December in the Media Center

The holidays are such a happy time - all the students are excited - and the media center looks so festive. Pre-k even had a special visitor!

Preparing for Julia Cook

We are getting ready for our next author visit.  Julia Cook will be at Brookwood on December 11th and will speak to kindergarten, first, second, and third grades in the Media Center.  Julia is a former school guidance counselor who writes books that help children deal with life issues, behavior skills, and overcoming fears among other things.   Kindergarten and first grades listened to and discussed several of her books in the Media Center and also with Mr. Bess in guidance. Mr. Bess also shared books with second and third graders, but in the Media Center those classes listened to a book and then used Julia's website to find out more about the author.  Then they entered the information they found on a Google Document.  They also learned some keyboarding shortcuts, such as cut & paste and find.  Three classes come next week and pictures will be added soon!

More New Books!

Stop by and check out our new books! We have added over 80 titles recently and still have more books to enter! You can see the list by clicking on Destiny Quest, finding the Resource Lists (middle of the home screen) and then scrolling down the public lists until you find the one titled "New Books December 2014."

Savvy Consumers

Students have been helping to decide which database the Media Center should purchase. They have compared PebbleGo and ScholasticGo and taken a web based survey to express their opinions. Stay tuned for the results!

Working in the Cloud

Third graders have been working hard to design brochures about composting. We have learned some of the basics of graphic design, researched our topic, written our informational text, edited and revised. Groups are adding their finished product to the class brochure - all at the same time on our "cloud" and then merging the data so that we have one document.

Kindergarten Pics

Today we introduced a few stations for Kindergarten during library time. Well - actually - we started with two classes last week, but it was a little hectic and I forgot to take pictures! Today it seemed a little calmer. After our storytime and checking out, students could choose between five stations for the last few minutes of class - reading buddies (stuffed animals and puppets), making a bookmark, Bookflix, keyboarding and mouse practice, and drawing their favorite place to read.

Thank You Brookwood PTA!

Look at our cute new shelves for our Everybody paperback books! Thanks to PTA for allowing us to purchase these with some of the funds that they so generously give to the media center each year. We were able to quickly order four of these and take advantage of a half price sale (and we do LOVE sale!s).

Lego Club

The first meeting of the 14/15 Lego Building Buddies Club was held this morning in the Media Center. THANK YOU to our wonderful PTA for purchasing some great new Legos! We had so much fun this morning that I barely got a chance to take pictures! I will continue to add pics to this album throughout the year.

The Magic of Poe (and Chad Crews!)

Mr. Crews once again amazed us with his magic! Fourth and fifth graders enjoyed "The Authors of Mystery and Horror" show today. They were introduced to some classics - Dracula, Frankenstein, Sherlock Holmes, Harry Houdini and of course, Edgar Allan Poe.

Authors of Mystery & Horror

Chad Crews will be returning to Brookwood on Monday, September 22nd to present his "Authors of Horror & Mystery"show for our 4th and 5th graders. Book orders may be turned in until September 23rd (the day after the show). Students wishing to receive autographs, however, should get their orders to Mrs. Wagner BEFORE the show.

THANK YOU!

Thank you to everyone who came and shopped at our awesome book fair! And a HUGE thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers!!! We would not have such a wonderful book fair if it wasn't for our super parents (and grandparents) who are so generous with their time! A very special thank you to Ginny Carson for all of her hard work to organize volunteers and for the time and energy she puts into working at the book fairs, too. Pictures of our book fair and students who won prizes (yes, the all agreed to pose for my silly pictures!) have been added to the book fair slide show - just scroll down the page a little to see it. I do regret that I didn't get any pictures during Ballyhoo while the book fair was packed with shoppers - just too busy helping out to think about take pictures!


If you didn't make it to the book fair or if you would just still like to shop (there is no such thing as having too many books!), you can still order books from our online book fair. It will be open until midnight on September 24th. The books you order online will be shipped to school within a few days of the online fair closing. Visit the Book Fair Link on the right hand side of the page or click HERE to go directly to our virtual bookfair.

Fall Newsletter Available

The Media Center Newsletter will be sent home with students this week, but you may also access it HERE.

The Book Fair is Open!

Our first book of the school year opened this morning. It will be here at Brookwood until NOON on Thursday, September 11th. We will be open during Ballyhoo until 7:00 pm. Stop in and check out all the great books! If you can't stop in, or would like an even bigger selection,you can visit our VIRTUAL bookfair. It will be open until September 24th. Once the virtual fair closes, the books will be shipped directly to the school and given to your student. This is a great way for family and friends who do not live in the area to help support our students and our media center. Money raised at our book fairs allows us to have two author visits a year and helps to purchase books and supplies for our library.

We are busy!

We have been busy in the library! We are collecting data about reading habits, library use, etc. from 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grades and will be analyzing it soon.

Summer Reading Celebration 2014

I am so very proud of our students! We had 95 students eligible for our Summer Reading Celebration Party. To attend the party, students must turn in a list of the books they read over the summer and/or have a parent send a summer reading picture for our blog. (See below.) Students who did both, received an extra hard cover book of their choice as a special reward. Students were excited that they were allowed to choose all of their own prizes! A good time was had by all!

We are back!

It's so nice to see everyone again! Don't forget to turn in your summer reading lists by Friday, August 15th. Our Summer Reading Celebration will be on Thursday, August 21st at 2:35.

Summer Reading

Please share your summer reading pictures by emailing them to Mrs. Wagner. We love to see our students and staff reading. And it is so much fun to see where everyone is, too!

Don't forget to fill out your summer reading log, too! (If you can't find the paper, it's okay - just make your own list - write the name of the books and the date you finished reading each one. Don't forget to put YOUR name on the top and then add your teacher's name for the 2014/2015 year before you turn it into the Media Center.)

REMEMBER - You can read ebooks by clicking the link on the right hand side of this page!

Advice for Next Year

Before leaving for the year, our fifth graders have left some advice for next year's 5th graders on our virtual corkboard.

Click and drag on the screen (and zoom in and out) to read all the posts.

https://noteapp.com/h3kWuPWkEY

"Blowing Up" the Librarian

So, I'm working in my office this afternoon and I hear some 5th graders say, "Let's blow up the librarian." Now, some people, upon hearing this may have shut and locked their door, but I came out to see what was going on! Raising up the librarian might be a better description - but it does involve blowing up ziploc bags with straws. If you want to try this, you can get directions by clicking on the link: http://pbskids.org/zoom/activities/sci/airlift.html

Ready for Summer Reading E-Reading!

With so many of our students having their own devices, we have been practicing how to access electronic (e-books)for the summer. Students who have brought their devices to the Media Center for class have also learned how to add the Media Wiki to their home screen for easy access this summer.

What a Wonderful Day!

We had such a wonderful day with author, Lola Schaefer today! She graciously hosted five sessions in the Media Center and this allowed us to have smaller groups than usual. Each presentation was perfectly suited for the grade levels present and I have to tell you, I loved every one! (How lucky am I to get to be there for all of them?) Mrs. Schaefer shared "the rest of the story" about her book Arrowhawk, led classes in echo reading Loose Tooth, listened to students tell what they like and don't like about writing, gave us insight into the process of writing a book, shared several other books with classes, helped students understand the research necessary for narrative non-fiction and so MUCH MORE!

To see the our virtual corkboard with comments from 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders about the program, please click HERE.

We are so excited!

We have had such a BUSY week - Field Days on Monday and Tuesday - the BOGO Book Fair which started yesterday and ends tomorrow and tomorrow is our author visit and STEM Day. Brookwood has LOTS of activities planned for the day.
In the Media Center, we are so excited and pleased to be hosting author, Lola M. Schaefer! We have been sharing her books for the last few weeks and so many of them are STEM related! Be sure and check back soon for photos from the visit!

BOGO Book Fair

Our last book sale of the year opens today and it is a special one. Buy one get one free - how great is that? This is a good time to stock up on summer reading and save money - two of my favorite things!

Preparing for Author Visit

We are getting ready for Lola Schaefer's visit on May 9th. CRCT changes our normal schedule and with field day rescheduled due to the weather, the older grades have been sharing books in small groups.

Time to VOTE!

It is time for students to vote for their favorite Georgia book. Kindergarten through 4th grade will all vote for their favorite picture book from the nominees. Fourth and 5th graders who have read at least two books from the nominated chapter books may vote for their favorite chapter book. Voting started last Thursday and concludes on April 30th. Check back to see which books win for Brookwood and whether or not those books also win for the state of Georgia!

Upcoming Author Visit

Author Lola Schaefer will be visiting Brookwood on May 9th. Order forms to purchase her books for autographing that day were sent home today. (Two of her books were also offered for sale at our last book fair.) If you would like to purchase one or more books, please be sure and return the form and money no later than Friday, April 25th.
Here is a link to the form in case you need one: Book order form.

New E-Books!

I have just added 106 NEW E-books (electronic books)to our OPAC, Destiny. These free books were provided to us by Unite for Literacy. These books more than double the available number of e-books in our system. You can view the titles by looking for the Public List called "New E-books" in the Resource List in Destiny Quest. The books can be opened on any device with Internet Access. Brookwood Destiny Link

Humane Society Commercials

Ms. Hendon and Mrs. Fischer's kindergarten classes have both decided to help the Humane Society of Northwest Georgia. During media center time, we have worked on creating commercials - from scripts, to obtaining permission to use pictures that we did not take, to the finished product. Now that both classes have completed their commercials, I am posting them below for you to enjoy!

Both classes are accepting donations for the shelter and also hope that people will be inspired to adopt a pet.

Humane Society Commercial from Brookwood School on Vimeo.

Adopt a Pet from Brookwood School on Vimeo.

The Journey of Curious George

Fifth graders are using Google Earth and almanacs (hard copies - old school!) to follow the journey of H.A. and Magret Rey when they fled war torn Europe during WWII.

Thanks to ALL!

Our school book fair has ended, Thank you to everyone who came and shopped at our FIESTA book fair. And a BIG THANK YOU to all of our wonderful PTA volunteers who gave their time and energy to make this a success - especially to Mrs. Carson for organizing everything!

Remember the online book fair will continue to March 18th, so you can still purchase books until then. Books purchased online will be shipped to school free when the online fair ends.

If you child ordered a minecraft book, we expect to have them in about 2 weeks.

March Volunteer Schedule

The March Volunteer Schedule had been posted.  A copy is also being sent home with students today.
Click on "Volunteer Schedules" on the Navigation Bar to see the schedule and for more information!

Opportunity to Purchase

We have an opportunity for you to purchase hardcover books by our next visiting author, Lola Schaefer, while the book fair is at school. "Lifetime" and "An Island Grows" for $17.00 each. If you would like to purchase one or both books, please return the form that was sent home last week in our newsletter to Mrs. Wagner in the Media Center or see a cashier in the Book Fair Room. I would be happy to hold the books if you like, until the visit so they can be autographed when Ms. Schaefer visits Brookwood on May 9th.
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Winter Newsletter

The Media Center Winter Newsletter was sent home this week. It includes information on the book fair, overdue books, and also a form to order hardcover books from the book fair by our next visiting author. Click on the link below to view it - the 2nd page is a Spanish translation.

Newsletter

Book Fair - At School AND Virtual

Our virtual book fair opens today and runs through March 18th. The great thing about a virtual book fair is that anyone can purchase books without even having to leave the comfort of home. Be sure and share the link below with family and friends who may want to purchase books for your child (or themselves!}. Other wonderful things about a virtual book fair is that you can peruse the stacks at your leisure, there is an even greater selection of books available, and you have more time to shop! Books purchased online will be shipped FREE to your child at Brookwood and will arrive by March 25th.

You may access our virtual book fair HERE.

Of course, if you like to browse through the actual books, the book fair is where you should go! It opens on Thursday, February 27th. Look who dropped by to help us promote the book fair today!

Researchers!

First, second and third graders are all currently involved in research projects in the media center. They are using books and Internet pathfinders to find useful and reliable information. And they are learning to give credit to their sources. Once their research is complete, students will create online interactive posters, using GLOGSTER. Check back as more pictures will be added to this album!

Mo Willems Author Study

Kindergarten classes have been studying Mo Willems and his books during library time for the past several weeks. Students enjoyed drawing the pigeon using the iPads with "Don't let the Pigeon Drive this App!"

Public Service Announcements (PSAs)

After a learning unit about Digital Citizenship and Netiquette, fourth graders have been busy creating Public Service Announcements using their new knowledge. They are also working on earning their digital passports online. I hope to post some finished PSAs here soon, so be sure and check back!

Evaluating Websites

Can you believe everything you read on the Internet? After evaluating websites and reviewing their results, our fifth graders are more aware of the need to be careful and use reputable sites when looking for information.