2-4-1 bookfair next week!!

Next week the 2-4-1 bookfair is back for 4 days in the library!! Before school, at lunch and after school you can come in and take advantage of the amazing deals that Scholastic sends us. Any adults interested in volunteering please come and see me ASAP, we need all the help we can get!!

See you soon!
Ms. B

Mo Willems is coming to Vancouver on June 10th!!

Tickets are in high demand, so if you are interested please follow the link to Vancouver Kidsbooks and call them ASAP!

http://www.kidsbooks.ca/kidsbooksevents.htm?AdID=285

We read a lot of these books in the library and the kids love Willems' sense of humour and his heart.  This is a great way to expose your children to literacy!! Tickets are $15 each and you get his free book and for every family member who joins you, you can choose a different title.

Happy Reading!
Ms. B

In one week I will be back to the library...

Hi Dragons,
It has been a long time since I updated this space and it is high time I did!! I have loved being the VP, and I have learned so much from the experience.  It is not the end though, but the beginning of new and exciting things that will be going on in the library!! Here are some things to look forward to:

1. In the library over the next few months we will be working on learning about ourselves and how to manage our strongest emotions (self-regulation and self awareness).  We will be reading books, watching short video clips, practicing scenarios and having deep discussions about building our own personal tool kit of ways to handle a variety of situations.  In the final stages of the unit, all students will be creating an identity square, the students will choose a symbol that represents them the best and we will be putting them up all over the school.  The intermediate students will be sewing their squares and the primary students will be using glue to create their squares (unless their are some volunteers who would like to help me sew with the primary students??).  It would be really valuable if students could also be talking about all the things they are learning about at home; these conversations could happen at the dinner table, in the car ride to sports or just at a quiet moment before bed.  

Top pic: My son working on one at home (he is in Grade 1)

Bottom pic: Identity squares/patches from other schools I have worked at

If you would like more information or would like to volunteer, please email me at kborthwick@sd38.bc.ca or come and stop by before school (Mon-Thurs) or after school (Mon-Wed).

Happy Reading,

Ms. Borthwick 

Welcome Ms. Dalziel!

The library is open and things are almost back to normal.  Thank you to all the students who have returned their library books from last school year, however, there are still many missing.  If anyone finds books under the couch or under their bed, please return them ASAP, those books have been away for far too long!
We have a new face in the library, Ms. Dalziel who is teaching Library prep to some of the primary classes.  Welcome Ms. Dalziel and thank you for helping keep the library stay so clean and organized!
Ms. Dalziel, Mrs. Allchin and I cannot do it all! I do not mean run the world, I am talking about keeping the library organized and clean! If you have any spare time and love books, volunteering in the library is perfect for you! Come by and visit Ms. Borthwick or Ms. Dalziel in the library to ask any questions and/or to get training.
 
I have been busily trying to get some new books out on our shelves! Stay tuned for a variety of new books available in many different genres...
A new series to look for:

Also, there will be a Scholastic Book Fair coming soon:
November 17th-20th 8:30am, lunchtime and 2:45pm.  Any adult who would like to volunteer for the 830am shift or the 2:45pm shift can email me at kborthwick@sd38.bc.ca.
We will be selecting a group of students to volunteer during lunchtime sales.

I love Scholastic Bookfairs as much as any student, however, this year our focus will be on the books not the little gadgets or erasers.  We will also be offering a lot of prizes (books!) for all the students in the school to promote the love of reading.  Reading is the most important life skill and can open up many opportunities and experiences.  Without it, students are left frustrated, unmotivated and lacking confidence.  However, forcing kids to read books they do not like, is not the way to foster their love of reading, it has actually been proving to deter kids from reading altogether.  Many studies have shown that kids need to pick out their own reading materials in order for them to be engaged.  Any kind of reading counts, for example: hockey magazines, blogs about video games or graphic novels...we have to support their choices and encourage them to take risks once they are comfortable enough in their reading abilities.  If you have any questions or concerns about your child's reading or their library choices, please feel free to contact your child's teacher or come and see me (Ms. Borthwick) at any time.   

Welcome Back!!!

Wow, it has been far too long since I have written to the Dixon Community! The learning commons is ready and waiting for everyone to come and enjoy! What is a learning commons you ask? It is a space that is beyond the library...it is a place where people read, learn, inquire, ask questions, make connections, reflect, transform thinking, make inferences, talk about learning, problem solve, think critically, giggle, play, smile.... We have been using the library like this for awhile and now you know its official name of it!!!

I look forward to seeing everyone come through the door.  Just remember that any books from last school year still need to be brought back asap! If they are not back within the next two weeks, I will have to send home a notice and possibly a bill for the missing book(s).  I know that will not happen, because everyone at Dixon is committed to be socially responsible.

As always, we are looking for some more help in the library and in a few weeks I will be offering a training session for new volunteers, stay tuned for the finalized date and time.

If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to come by or contact me at the school by phone.

See you soon!
Ms. Borthwick
604-604-6608
kborthwick@sd38.bc.ca

I survived - The Japanese Tsunami 2011

This book is a very suspenseful page turner and at the end there are facts about the tsunami.
4.5/5
Bryan

Underworlds

This book is full of adventure and mystery, and mythology and a very good book. 4/5
Bryan

It is about three friends that travel to the Underworld to save their friend that has been swallowed by Hades. I liked the part with the Myrmidons fighting the three friends in the bronze tower. My favourite character is probably Jon.

I didn't like the part where Charon says they can't have a trip back across the Styx river even though he said it was fine to have a round trip

Filip