I just found out some amazing news. An anonymous donor just gave more than $1,000 – yes, you read that correctly: MORE THAN ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS!!! – to directly benefit Johnson students.

It all started back in October when I posted three projects on a website called Donors Choose (http://www.donorschoose.org). On this site, teachers ask for things they need for their students and people who want to donate money choose which teachers they want to give to. I decided to ask for a brand new item on the market called a Playaway. Playaways are mp3 players that come pre-loaded with BOOKS on them. How cool is that???

This was the last week for my projects to be displayed on the website. As of this morning, I had received generous donations from my mom, my uncle, and a really nice librarian named Mrs. Mambu. However, I still had a lot of money left to raise and I wasn’t sure it was going to happen. But a few minutes ago, I found out that an extremely generous individual gave ALL of the money that was still needed to buy the supplies.

What does this mean for you, Johnson School? You will soon be getting 17 Playaways and 42 brand new books in the Johnson LLC!! I can’t WAIT to show them to you when they arrive! I hope you will enjoy them and that you will remember all of the kind people who helped buy them for you.

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is a video showcasing just a few of the many new books that have recently arrived in the Johnson LLC. Even more are coming soon. Come on down and check them out!

NOTE: If it’s taking a long time and it keeps starting and stopping, I suggest that you hit the ‘pause’ button and allow it to load completely before trying to watch it. Enjoy! :)

Today was the Rebecca Caudill Award voting party!  All 4th and 5th grade students who read at least 3 of the nominated books enjoyed pizza and cake in the LLC at lunch today.  They also voted for their favorite books from the list.  Any students who did not attend the party and still need to vote, please see Mrs. Heins or Mrs. Dostal in the LLC before the end of this week.

A very special congratulations go to KAYLA and KARINA, who read ALL 20 of the nominees!!  That’s a lot of reading!  Way to go, girls!  Keep up the great work!!!!!

I would just like to say that I am so extremely proud of every single student who read 3 or more of the Rebecca Caudill Award nominees this year!  Thanks for participating!

Breakfast with Books was a huge success again this morning!  About 40 second and third graders came to school early to enjoy doughnuts, juice, and of course some awesome books!  Students found comfy spots around the library to read individually, with a partner, with a favorite stuffed animal, or with a group of friends.  At the end, Mr. Edwards and Ms. Fehrman entertained everyone by reading the story Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude by Kevin O’Malley.  What a great way to start the day!  Thanks to all of the parents who made special arrangements to drop off their children early so they could participate!  Photos coming soon.

I am very excited to announce that fourth and fifth graders are invited to start contributing to this blog!   You may leave comments about any of the Rebecca Caudill nominees by clicking on the title to the right.  You may also blog about other books you’ve read that you’d like to recommend to others.  Just click on the page called “AWESOME Books!” and leave a message about it there.  Please be sure to turn in your blogging permission slip so that I can begin publishing your comments!  Our Blogging Guidelines and Blogging Instructions can be found by clicking on the links above.  Thanks for participating.  I LOVE hearing what you have to say about books and I hope that you enjoy sharing your thoughts with each other!

The American Library Association announced their award winners today for the Newbery Medal, Caldecott Medal, and other awards!  The Newbery Medal went to Rebecca Stead (author of this year’s Caudill nominee First Light) for her book When You Reach Me.  The Caldecott Medal went to Jerry Pinkney (illustrator of this year’s Monarch nominee The Little Red Hen) for his book The Lion and the Mouse.  For a full list of winners of all the different awards, visit the Association for Library Service to Children website.

Two groups of enthusiastic fourth and fifth grade readers joined Johnson teachers at our first two Book Clubs of the year.  The first Book Club took place on December 15th.  Before meeting, 13 students and 7 adults all read the book The Thing About Georgie by Lisa Graff.  On the evening of the 15th, the Book Club met in the LLC from 6:30-7:30 p.m.  All participants enjoyed a dinner of pizza and pasta (thanks, PTA!) while Ms. Tibble kicked off the night with a presentation about her life as a little person.  This deepened readers’ understanding of Georgie, a little person, who was the main character in the book.  Afterwards, everyone split up into small groups to discuss the book.

The second Book Club was held last night.  This time, 8 fourth and fifth grade girls met with Mrs. Heins, Mrs. Earnst, and Ms. Tibble to discuss the book Crossing the Wire by Will Hobbs.  We enjoyed Mexican food for dinner since the main character in this book is from Mexico.  Then we engaged in a thoughtful and emotional discussion of the moving story of Victor Flores, who risks everything and embarks on a treacherous journey in order to save his family.

Please enjoy these photos from the two Book Clubs!

Fourth and fifth graders, stay tuned for information about the next Book Club coming soon!  Next we will be reading The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis.  I look forward to seeing you there!

The weather outside might have been frightful last night, but 23 kindergartners and first graders put on their warmest pajamas and bundled up to make it to Bedtime with Books in the LLC.  They enjoyed milk and cookies and some delightful stories read by guest readers Mrs. Boomsma, Mrs. Lobue, Mrs. Smith, and Mrs. Marchessault (Mrs. Heins’s MOM!!).  Mr. Edwards and Mrs. Heins served milk and cookies and enjoyed the stories along with the kids.  Thank you to all who braved the elements to make our second Bedtime with Books event a great success!  To see more pictures, visit our Flickr site at http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnsonschool_llc/

This morning was our first Breakfast with Books event of the year.  About 45 second and third graders came to school early and enjoyed a yummy breakfast of doughnuts and juice.  Then, all of the students found comfy places to read all over the LLC.  They were joined by several teachers as well as both principals!!   Thank you to everyone who helped with this event, and to all the parents who made special arrangements to drop students off early so they could attend.   It was a huge success!

Even the teachers wore their pajamas!!

Wow, our first Bedtime with Books of the year was a HUGE success!!!  Over 60 kindergartners and first graders arrived at school in their pajamas last night for a bedtime snack and story.  Everyone enjoyed milk and cookies in the LLC before heading off to different classrooms.  In Mrs. Urbanski’s room, Mrs. Urbanski and Mr. Pilkington each read a story in Spanish to our bilingual students.  Mrs. Musial and Mrs. Lobue each read a story to kindergartners in Mrs. Musial’s room.  In Mrs. Smith’s room, Mrs. Smith and special guest reader Miss Paul (the librarian at Hubble Middle School) each read a story to first graders.  It was so much fun!  I would like to personally thank all of the parents who brought their little ones to this special event and made it such a big success!  Also, thank you to all of our readers who volunteered to spend their evening with us!  We will have three more Bedtime with Books nights throughout the year: December 8th, February 11th, and April 14th.  I hope to see you then!