Who is your hero?

I started the class off by asking the intermediates, "Who is your hero?" I told them to think about it for a moment, and to not say a TV star or Blake Sheldon. Many of the students said their parent(s) were their heroes. You might be a hero in someone's life and not know it! After everyone gave me the name of their hero, I told them that my hero is my Mom, but that we also have many heroes throughout our lives.

I showed them the book cover that I was sharing with them that day. It was a biography called "Helen Keller : Courage in Darkness" written by Emma Carlson Berne. I read a couple of quotes from the book and shared with the students some of the special moments in Helen's life. One of the very inspiring moments was when she graduated from Radcliffe College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1904. Everyone in the audience gave her a huge applause and I'm hoping that Helen felt the vibrations on her glorious day.

This young lady named Helen had insurmountable hardships and with the help of Annie Sullivan (a teacher/angel) and her own strength, humour and faith, Helen lived a very successful life. She helped others, was a political activist and proved to the world that nothing was impossible.

Dream Snow

The Grade 1 class listened to one of my favourite books of all time. The books is called "Dream Snow" by Eric Carle. It is about a farmer that is a thoughtful, generous man who loves his animals and wants them to experience the surprises of Christmas morning.

Grateful to All

The Scholastic Book Fair has been packed up and the library is back to it's original form. It is my pleasure to announce that this year's book fair was the most successful one at St. Luke's yet!

Every year since I began working here at St. Luke's, the staff and students and families have supported this annual event. It is wonderful to be part of a small school that is so very generous. I have a large box of books that were 50% off and profit sharing that provides funds for future purchases within the school.

Scholastic Book Fair is here!

It is marvellous to see the excitement in the air when the library transforms into a book store for one week every November. All of the children are peering in the window, wide-eyed and smiling, with anticipation and excitement to see what's going on inside. 

Similar to an old-fashion circus rolling into town, the Scholastic Book Fair is set up for a few days every November at St. Luke's. Everyone gets to view, shop and enjoy, and then it is packed up and the library is back to normal again. The book fair ends when the last trolley is closed on Friday morning.  

Everything in our world is a lesson, even the book fair. Some children buy books; some children don't; some children need to budget and can't always buy what they had wanted to. It is my hope that with the success of the book fair, I can add many great new books to our shelves for all the students to enjoy! 

A big "Thank You!" to all of the St. Luke's families who continue to support their school library!

May We Never Forget

History was shared once again with my intermediate grades, when I played a YouTube video called "Poppies at the Tower of London - A Blood Swept Land and Seas of Red."

It is difficult for young people who have only experienced war from afar, and mostly through what is reported by the media, to wrap their heads around the large numbers of losses. When you see a creation of this magnitude, you visually experience the enormous loss of lives.

We Must NEVER FORGET! All of our history is important; we learn so much and must give thanks for the generations before us.

Little rabbit helps a bear see stars

This week, I read-aloud one of my all-time favourite books to the Grade 1 class. The book is called, "Gruff the Grump" written by Steve Smallman and illustrated by Cee Biscoe. It tells the story of a grumpy bear whose attitude is changed when he rescues a rabbit and receives a small thank you gift. Rabbit is desperately trying to catch all the "fallen stars." The story ends with Gruff the Bear smiling and covered in autumn leaves (the fallen stars) from his new little friend Rabbit.

Isn't it wonderful to be able to imagine a yellow leaf turning into a star? Books can transform our moods the same way that they can transform their characters lives!

Remembrance Day Service

It was wonderful to be part of an audience that celebrated our Veteran's today. All the children from JK-8 participated in individual presentations, either through music or sharing thoughts of how We Will Never Forget. It certainly touched my heart and a tear rolled down my face as a wreath was laid and a veteran sat solemnly in the audience watching.

It was a time for all of us to reflect on the sacrifices that all soldiers endured to give us freedom. I personally thought of the many people that I've lost in my life: my Mom and Dad, my Mother-in-Law & Father-in-Law, my Step-Father and many others. They all had stories that they kept hidden inside of the horrors of war. I pray that our world will see peace again.

The staff worked very hard with the students over the last couple of months to arrange this memorable service. Thank You!

Hoo, Hoo, Hoo

Grade 4/5 class listened intently to a book called "Northern Spotted Owl" by Patricia A Fink-Martin. This book is from the True Book Animals series that provides amazing photographs and interesting and unusual facts about animals.

I read these books to encourage the students to want to research other animals or birds. They were amazed to find out that the owl does not having external ears. It is unfortunate that clearing old forests are taking away the habitat of the Northern Spotted Owl. Did you know the wing span can be 4 feet wide? A student helped me measure out 4 feet with the measuring tape. All of the students were surprised.

Our world is full of nature's creatures that we can only be exposed to through books or occasionally see at a zoo or aquarium. After reading only a few pages, it sparked conversation of visual sightings and interest in this magnificent bird. A student mentioned that he thought this bird was lazy because they do not build their own nests; all of the students chuckled. I'm sure it will be the topic of conversation at the dinner table tonight.

WARNING! Do not open this book (5 star)

The Grade 2/3 class truly became totally captivated during the read-aloud of the book called, "WARNING! Do Not Open This Book!" by Adam Lehrhaupt. Lowering my voice to a whisper and pausing before turning the page built suspense that made this story very real. A few of the children actually moved from where they were sitting, feeling like the book was actually going to come alive. All of us laughed and chatted about each page and the anticipation of what was to follow. So many children wanted to borrow this book after I read it. Aah! Choosing the right book for the different classes makes it memorable and enjoyable and everyone left with a smile. All shivers were now gone.

Happy Halloween!

A Milestone Birthday for St. Luke

Wow! St. Luke Catholic Elementary School will celebrate 50 years this Sunday, October 19. The building has changed but it still has its country charm and wonderful families continue to support this amazing gem.

 Congratulations to St. Luke School students, staff and families!

Happy birthday!

Interesting inventions

I found an interesting non-fiction book on the shelf called, "Extreme Science : Science in the Danger Zone" by Larry Verstraete. My first choice article from the book was titled, "Cut the rope." This article was about an inventor named Elisha Otis who invented the safety elevator. He helped change the future of city skylines with skyscrapers and tall buildings being built.

The second article that I shared was about how space engineers sent 2 spiders, minnows, minnow eggs and 450 fruit flies into space. I'm sure you're asking yourself the big question, "Why?" Scientists and space engineers wanted to see what they would do if they were in a place with no gravity. The spiders first wove webs that were sloppy and the minnows swam in circles. I'm pleased to say they eventually figured it out. The spiders were able to fix their webs and the minnows stopped swimming in circles.

Space exploration and science engineers are continually working together to find innovative ways to explore and help our world with their inventions.

Memorable day in history.

I wanted to share something that the intermediate students would find really interesting, so I chose a memorable day in World History. I decided on a non-fiction book, "The Fall Of The Berlin Wall : 10 November, 1989" by Brian Williams. It is part of a series called Dates With History.

The 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall will soon be here and it is a part of history that shows the importance of freedom and the power of people. All of the students were very curious to find out the length of the wall, why the wall was built, how many lives were lost and many other incredible facts.

After sharing this book with the class, I answered all the questions they had about this time in history using the information contained in the book. I also gave the students the opportunity to watch a YouTube video called, "The Iconic Photo of the Berlin Wall." This video provided photographs and the personal testament of TIME photographer Anthony Suau's coverage of the Berlin Wall.

Everything in the world is important!

I shared a book with a class called, "The Important Book" by Margaret Wise Brown. It is not a story, but rather a book describing and detailing the importance of many objects. After reading the book aloud, we talked about how everything in our world is important and has a purpose.

I suggested to the class that we could create riddles and the students could guess the object. Two of the students shared their funny riddles, and had the whole group laughing. This is a great book to show how the author described each and every thing within the book. Purpose and importance go hand in hand in life; you can't have one without the other, if you take the time to recognize it.

Violet

There is a book that is catalogued as a non-fiction but if you were to just look at the cover, you'd think it was a picture book. This book sends out such an important message in a simplified way. The title of this book is called, "Violet" by Tania Duprey Stehlik and illustrated by Vanja Vuleta Jovanovic.

The main character is a young girl who moves to another house and is nervous to go to a new school. There are many students of many colours at her new school: red, yellow, blue. Violet is surprised to find that there is nobody else that is the colour of violet.

When her father comes to pick her up from school, her classmates see that he is blue in colour, and make remarks about it. Another day, Violet's mother picks her up for school and again, a classmate comments about her Mom's red skin. Of course, the question is asked by some of her curious classmates why she is Violet is the colour that she is.

When she arrives home with her Mom, they talk about the different colours of skin and why Violet's colour is a mix of colour from her parents. This is book to embrace and share with intermediate students. It certainly provides a lesson that does not need any explanation after you read this book aloud.

Exciting Announcement!

It is always memorable and certainly interesting to meet a children's author, and I have some exciting news for St. Luke's!

Michael Wade, the co-author of the book series "And Then It Happened," will be coming to the school in October. He will spend time talking to the students about the importance of reading. The students can expect to laugh out loud while also being motivated to pick up a new or favourite book to read.

A Changing World

 "And Still the Turtle Watched" by Sheila MacGill-Callhan and illustrated by Fanny is an absolute favorite read-aloud. The book tells about a Delaware tribe that lived when the rivers were clean, the air was fresh and you could see the stars in the night sky. They carved a beautiful turtle from stone to overlook their community on top of a cliff.

Years later, when the tribe was gone, young teen boys used spray paint and put graffiti all over the rocks and most importantly the turtle. Generations passed until it was finally discovered and taken to a place where it could be enjoyed for centuries to come, exactly as the Delaware tribe intended.

The class was very surprised when I told them that the turtle can be seen in New York City at the Watson Building Botanical Gardens.

Ocean Adventure

With a new school year underway, I'm happy to share new books that I've added to the library collection, like "Miss Smith Under the Ocean" by Michael Garland.

Wouldn't it be a spectacular, jaw-dropping experience to have characters and the settings of their books come alive? This is exactly what happens when Miss Smith reads books to her students. Talk about hand's-on learning at it's finest! The students have the chance to meet the characters of Treasure Island, Robinson Crosue, Moby Dick, and others. They even help save a mermaid caught in a fishing net during their ocean antics!

Miss Smith always returns safely with her students, even though they sometimes get into frightening situations while experiencing the story she is reading. As a librarian who challenges the students to stretch their minds and use their imaginations, I mentioned how much I wish I could provide the incredible story-telling experience that Miss Smith does!

Fun Flora Facts

What better way to start a new year with the students than to share book about the interesting wonders of our world!

With book in hand and a measuring tape, I read to the students about all kinds of plants in "Strange and Amazing Plants" from the Reading Discovery Nature Series. They learned that the largest flower in the world measures 3 feet wide, and the tallest plant grows 9 feet high! We used a measuring tape so everyone could gain perspective of how big these plants really are. The students also heard about the Redwood Forests in California, carnivorous plants like the Venus flytrap, and learned that not all plants need soil or water to survive.

I find it fun to have interactive activities that go along with the books I read, and always enjoy sharing fun and interesting facts with the students. Who knows, maybe there is a future botanist in the class! 

If you're happy and you know it!!

If you're happy and you know it...!! I don't know if you are, but I sure am! The past few weeks, I've been counting down the days to return to the library, and I'm looking forward to another year at St. Luke's. I hope everyone had a wonderful summer. Mine was filled with star-gazing, family dinners, campfires and reading books. It was a pleasure to do a little shopping and I have a few new books that I'm excited to share with the students.

I have lots of new ideas to share with the different classes this coming year, and am always looking for new ways for the kids to learn and interact. One idea is to incorporate a visual picture with a trivia question and then have the students research the topic. Hopefully, this will be both fun and rewarding for the intermediate/middle grades.

My blogs seem to be doing very well at both of my schools, and I hope you appreciate keeping up-to-date with the happenings in the library. Blogging may be time consuming but I feel it's important to share some of my ideas and special library moments with parents/colleagues.

Wishing everyone a fun-filled, rewarding school year!

Happy reading,

Mrs. Lummiss
 

Nature's treasures

Since sharing a book about rocks and fossils, many of the children have become interested in the topic of geology. Each week, one or two students tell me about the fossils or rocks they have found. Next week the Grade 3 class students are going to share their found treasures. They will be showing us the rocks, fossils and shells that they have found and the stories that go with them.