Scholastic Book Fair is coming in December!

Mark you calendars for some quick and easy holiday shopping and to further our love of reading at Dixon!

Monday, December 9th
Wednesday, December 11th
Thursday, December 12th

The Book Fair will be open before school, during lunch and after school on these three days. We will see you there!

Look for Scholastic Book Fair posters around the school!

Parent volunteers who are available to help these days please contact Ms.Borthwick at kborthwick@sd38.bc.ca

DART Assessments

Hi again,
I just wanted to let everyone know that there will be no library exchanges or visits this coming week. I will be helping with DART which is our District Reading Assessment. DART helps teachers decide which reading techniques need to be focused on in the classroom. I also incorporate some important reading strategies in Library lessons as well. For example, this past month we have been working on making connections to ourselves, to other stories and to the world, while reading specific texts or stories. As always, if there are any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Ms. Borthwick

Drop Everything and Read and the Grand ReOpening

Last week was a very busy week, and not just because it ended with Halloween! On Monday we had our DEAR event and our Grand ReOpening of the library. Why are those events important you ask? Especially since the library has been reopened for awhile now....Well the Grand ReOpening of the library was to say thank you to all the members of the Dixon community who were a big part of the library renovations. The volunteers who helped box up the books,to the workers who built of the the shelving units, to the teachers who had no library access for a month and of course to the PAC members who raised all the money for our beautiful new tables, new chairs and our giant carpet! A lot goes into any renovation, but this was a pretty special transformation for the community at Dixon Elementary to enjoy for many years to come.

DEAR is also a very important event that promotes life long readers and learners. University studies show that a love for reading greatly improves your academic abilities now and in the future. Contrary to what some may think, you do not need to read a specific genre to become a genius. Many students love what they love, and sometimes pushing them too far outside their comfort zone is not always a good idea. Some students may naturally love to read novels, whereas others love the facts and information they absorb while reading Non-Fiction books.  The most important thing is that students read for at least 15 minutes everyday, and that is what Drop Everything and Read is all about.

If you have any specific questions about home reading and different genres, please do not hesitate to call me or come by for a visit on the days that I work, which are Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Keep reading!
Ms. Borthwick

Adrienne Gear in the house!

I was so excited to be a part of a special presentation that was put on today in our school library for the Dixon Staff.  Adrienne Gear, who is a well known Reading and Writing guru in the lower mainland came to share her wonderful tools with many of the teachers today.  She had great ideas and practical lessons, that I am sure will start being used in classrooms soon.

On a different note, I am finding that some books are coming back into the library wet, ripped or just plain damaged.  I will be talking to the students about book care and respect for the items they borrow from the library.  Please encourage your kids to think about a safe place for books to stay while at home, and also make sure books are not stuffed into bags close to liquids.

Thank you for your help and support!

Ms. Borthwick

End of September already.....

One more school day left in September?! The last two weeks I was out of the library helping teachers and resource staff to complete our District reading assessments.  It was a wonderful experience reading with all of our students, they did a great job and I look forward to seeing their progression.  If you came to see me about volunteering, I am so sorry I missed you, please come back next week. My schedule this year is a little more straight forward, I will be working: Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.  We do have a library schedule but it may still change this week, but hopefully our first official week in the library will be fun, challenging and exciting!

Keep reading everyday no matter what!
Have a restful weekend.

Ms. Borthwick

Week 1- I think everyone survived!

It seems like everyone had a wonderful, albeit busy first full week of school.  I was open for a few days this week and met some of the new class combinations for the year.  I am really excited about all of the energy and enthusiasm I saw for reading! Very few students took less then the maximum and I had a few students who wanted to take out more!!!

The library will be open three days a week (Monday, Wednesday and Thursday until lunch).  If you have any questions about my availability, please feel free to come by to discuss it with me.

I am thinking about collaborating with the PAC and choosing a night that we can offer some help to parents who are finding it difficult when helping with research projects at home.  We have many helpful resources that can be accessed at home and they are available in a variety of languages.

The library will be officially opened for regular exchanges by the beginning of October. Stay tuned for more information regarding our grand opening of the new library.  We are excited to invite some of the main people who helped to make the library the beautiful space it is today!

So many things to be excited about!
Keep reading,
Ms. Borthwick

Welcome Back!

A new library and a new school year! Lots of things on my to-do list this year and if anyone would like to come and help out I am always looking for library volunteers. I will post a list of tasks and time commitments for anyone who is wondering if they could come and help out.

The library will be open for business by the end of September and keep a lookout for all the new books available to borrow in the library!

In October we will be having a Drop Everything And Read day and an official Library Grand Opening on the same day!!!!  There will be cake, lots of reading and a chance to dress as your favourite literary character, so much to look forward too!

Come by and visit,
Ms. Borthwick

2 for 1 Bookfair

Hi Dixon Community,

Just a few quick messages:
Next week we are having a 2 for 1 scholastic book fair. 
It will be from Monday to Thursday, 8:30-9:00, 12:15-1:00, 2:45-3:30.
New volunteers are welcome!
Come to browse or buy, adult titles will be available as well as excellent summer reading for kids.

Another quick message, all books need to be returned by Monday, June 17th so my helpers and I can get all the books ready and organized to start the next school year.  If you have any problems finding books, please do not hesitate to come see me in the library and I am sure we can figure something out...

Summer is almost here, but do not forget to keep reading even for just 20 minutes every day!

Ms. Borthwick 

Reading is so important!

Thank you for your patience...

Well it has been awhile since I have posted any new information and it may be awhile until I have anything to write about.  The library is starting to look great (thanks to the PAC and all of their support), but there is still so much to do until our grand opening, which may have to be in September! If anyone is interested in volunteering in the library, we still have so much to accomplish, come see me anytime.

The end of the year is approaching, so if you find any books under beds or in the bottom of school bags, please return them. Library exchanges will be ending in the middle of June, and all books will have to returned.

I hope everyone had a great weekend and read for at least 20 minutes everyday!

See you all in the library,
Ms. Borthwick

New in the library....the library!

It has so far been a very eventful second term....our library is getting a seismic upgrade! Very soon actually. Apologies ahead of time if there are any inconveniences, but with change comes many new opportunities.  We will have to close down the library for as long as it is needed to put up new shelves, build a new desk and make sure all of our resources are put back on the shelves.  I have been busily trying to clear away any outdated resources and make way for a polished new learning commons!

Very exciting but may be frustrating at times. Please come and see me if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank you ahead of time for your understanding,
Ms. Borthwick