Lois Ruby Visits

Fourth and fifth graders enjoyed their visit with Author Lois Ruby and her husband, Dr. Tom Ruby today.  Mrs. Ruby shared information about her books and the process of writing them and took time to answer questions, too.

Mrs. Ruby signed books for students after each author session.  Here are a few pictures (I am having printed copies made for each student and will be passing those out when I have them!).

In the afternoon, seven students from each homeroom were able to attend a special writing workshop conducted by Mrs. Ruby.

Author Lois Ruby

We are so excited!!!  Author Lois Ruby will be visiting Brookwood on Monday, October 30th.  Mrs. Ruby and her husband, Tom, were here a couple of years ago and during that visit, she shared some information about a book she was writing that was set right here in Dalton!  That book, The Secret Grave, was released this past summer and guess what?  Brookwood and Dalton Middle are both mentioned in the book!!!  How exciting is that?!?!?  We will have two author sessions - one for 4th grade and one for 5th grade - in the morning and then Mrs. Ruby will teach two writing workshops in the afternoon for 28 students in each grade level.  Check back soon for pictures of the visit!

Lola Schafer Book Orders Due on Friday

Author Lola Schaefer will visit with kindergaten, first, second, and third graders on Monday, December 4th.  We are currently taking orders for several of her books, which she will autograph and personalize for students while she is here.  All orders need to be turned in to Mrs. Wagner in the Media Center by this Friday, October 27th so we can in turn order from the publisher and have the books in time.  

Google Slides

 Fourth and fifth graders have been having a good time learning to use some useful shortcut keys and experimenting with Google Slides.  This was a good intro to their Google Drive which they will be learning more about.  They all were given access to a file which they needed to save and then edit using the shortcut keys.

Happy Fall Y'all!!!

Book Tastings

 We recently tried something new (for us anyway) in the Media Center.  Fourth and fifth graders were treated to a Book Tasting.  It was a way for them to 'sample" several "tasty" books.  Each table had at least one book by author Lois Ruby, who is visiting us at th end of the month, and several books that have been nominated for the Georgia Children's Chapter Book Award this year.  After chcking out the cover and the book blurb (yes, that's a real thing), students read for several minutes and then completed a form about each book.  At that point, they could also put a hold on the book or simply add it to their "want to read" list in Destiny.  Students really enjoyed this and in some classes we even had time to share which book they would want to try to get other students to read so it would win the award.

3D Day

Our district hosts an annual professional development day every year.  I presented two sessions of Digital Breakout and teachers who came to this used their device (some used laptops and some used their phones) and also worked in the Tech Playground.  It is a great opportunity for our teachers and staff to try out some new things!