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May072009
POSTED AT 01:03 PM
Library News
Mrs. Paulette Garza
paulette_garza@roundrockisd.org
It is the end of the year and summer is upon us. This summer, the Round Rock Public Library Summer Reading Program is titled “Libraries Deep in the Heart of Texas”. The summer reading program will begin on Wednesday June 10. Children of all ages are encouraged to sign up to read for fun and prizes. Check their online library calendar of events for more information about their summer reading club and to learn more about their regularly scheduled babytime, toddlertime, storytime, as well as, special events occurring this summer. For those of you going out of town, be sure to check out their selection of children’s audiobooks on CD and videos. Incoming sixth graders, may check the Walsh Library webpage for book recommendations and information on the middle school reading program, the Texas Lone Star Reading program.
This past month’s highlighted online resource was the Encyclopedia Britannica Online School Edition®. This online resource includes a dictionary, thesaurus, Animal of the Day, Activity of the Day, regular Feature sections which include biographies, timelines and current events and much more. There is also a new interactive Britannica Learning Zone for Pre-kindergarten to second grade students to introduce them to research and learning online. RRISD also provides a Spanish online encyclopedia resource named Enciclopedia Juvenil® for our Spanish speaking students and parents.
This month’s highlighted online resource is new to Old Town. It is PebbleGo® animal database. This database is geared towards the younger student in grades PK-2. This unique online resource allows students to listen to passages being read and watch small videos of information dealing with an animal’s body, life cycle, habitat, food and fun facts. Use this fun colorful and educational resource during the summer to work on reading, fluency and comprehension with your little one.
Once again, I encourage you to log on to our campus online resources via our school website to get more familiar with our online research resources. If you have any questions or wish to explore these resources together call or drop by the library anytime. This has been a great first year for me as an elementary librarian. I would like to thank each and every one of you for your support and encouragement as parents and for your wonderfully attentive children this school year.
Have A Happy And Safe Summer Full Of Reading For Fun !!
Old Town Elementary Library Webpage:
http://teacherweb.com/TX/OldTownElementary/Library/index.html
Apr302009
POSTED AT 04:02 PM
Library News
Mrs. Paulette Garza
paulette_garza@roundrockisd.org
Library book titles and resources are accessible through the iBistro library catalog from the Old Town Elementary Webpage. AR titles can be found on the Library Catalog page under Reading Programs (yellow tab). The Old Town Elementary webpage is located at http://schools.roundrockisd.org/oldtown/
Kindergarten and First grade students are almost done with their RRISD Armadillo Readers Choice Nominee Books. The books we have read so far are: Strong Man: The Story of Charles Atlas, by Meghan McCarthy, Three Cabritos, by Eric Kimmel, Jazz on a Saturday Night, by Leo & Diane Dillon , Wind Flyers, by Angela Johnson, Bean Thirteen,by Matthew McElligott , Bob & Otto, by Robert Bruel and Glass Slipper Gold Sandal, by Paul Fleischman. Coming up in April will be: Chester, by Melanie Watt, Dogku, by Andrew Clements and in May- Meerkat Mail, by Emily Gravett, 2007.
To assist students with their Spring research assignments, the RRISD Online Resources OTE School Home Access Information sheet was sent home in March. Home Access information includes usernames and passwords for all of our online resources. The RRISD Online Resources Home Access information can also be found in the PTA directory.
This month’s highlighted online resource is the Encyclopedia Britannica Online School Edition. This online resource includes a dictionary, thesaurus, Animal of the Day, Activity of the Day, regular Feature sections which include biographies, timelines and current events and much more. There is also a new interactive Britannica Learning Zone for Pre-kindergarten to second grade students to introduce them to research and learning online. RRISD also provides a Spanish online encyclopedia resource named Enciclopedia Juvenil for our Spanish speaking students and parents.
Once again, I encourage you to log on to our campus online resources via our school website to get more familiar with our online research resources. If you have any questions or wish to explore these resources together call or drop the library anytime. I will be highlighting another RRISD online research resource in next month’s PTA newsletter to keep you up-to-date with our online research resources.
Old Town Elementary Library Webpage:
http://teacherweb.com/TX/OldTownElementary/Library/index.html
Mar102009
POSTED AT 09:54 AM
Library News
Mrs. Paulette Garza
paulette_garza@roundrockisd.org
Library book titles and resources are accessible through the iBistro library catalog from the Old Town Elementary Webpage. AR titles can be found on the Library Catalog page under Reading Programs (yellow tab). The Old Town Elementary webpage is located at http://schools.roundrockisd.org/oldtown/
Third through sixth graders in the state of Texas voted for their favorite Texas Bluebonnet Book and …..the winner of the 2008-2009 Texas Bluebonnet Award is…. One Potato, Two Potato by Cynthia DeFelice and illustrated by Andrea U'Ren. For more information on the Texas Bluebonnet Award and book list visit the TBA website (http://www.txla.org/groups/tba/).
Another green RRISD Online Resources OTE School Home Access Information sheet was sent home in the students Tuesday folders the first week of March. Home Access information includes usernames and passwords for all of our online resources. The RRISD Online Resources Home Access information can also be found in the PTA directory.
Now that student research has begun in many grade levels on the OTE campus, I wanted to let you know about one RRISD online research resource that’s going to keep our students safe when they’re using the Internet and will also help our teachers find resources that match each of our students’ learning needs. The product, is netTrekker d.i., it is an award-winning search engine created just for students, teachers, and parents and delivers only safe, educator-selected websites every time we use the Internet. netTrekker d.i., is a search engine (some-what like Google) created just for students, teachers, and parents and delivers only safe, educator-selected websites every time we use the Internet.
Here are just a few reasons why netTrekker d.i. is ideal for our school community:
· Searching is fast and easy: netTrekker d.i. contains over 180,000 educator selected online resources that are organized around the K-12 curricula and by grade level so searching is logical and easy
· Makes searching the Internet safe for students: All netTrekker d.i. websites and images have been selected and evaluated by educators so students receive ONLY safe, relevant results and school-friendly images every time they use the Internet
· Designed for different learning styles: netTrekker d.i. provides resources that work for all members of our school community including general-education, ESL/ELL, and gifted students, students working below or above grade level, having reading challenges, special needs, and more
· Customized resources for English Language Learners: netTrekker d.i. also includes an entire section devoted to ELL students and to teaching ESL
· Helps our district integrate technology into every classroom: netTrekker d.i. is an easy to use technology tool with searching options for beginner and advanced users so all our students and teachers can benefit from the educational resources available on the Internet every day
· A great resource for homework: netTrekker is web-based so your child can use it at school and home
I am very excited about the learning opportunities that our online resources provide our school and to our students. I encourage you to log on to our campus online resources via our school website to get more familiar with our online research resources. I will be highlighting another RRISD online research resource in next month’s PTA newsletter to keep you up-to-date with our online research resources.
Old Town Elementary Library Webpage: http://teacherweb.com/TX/OldTownElementary/Library/index.html
Mar102009
POSTED AT 09:52 AM
Library News
Mrs. Paulette Garza
paulette_garza@roundrockisd.org
Great News! It’s a new year and the wonderful and generous PTA has approved a budget to spruce up the library. A committee has been formed and with the leadership of Lori Hutson, project Library Makeover has begun. Suggested library makeover ideas include, a fresh coat of paint, a cozy reading nook, display area, lighting above the non-fiction bookshelves, a parent volunteer work area, wall quotes and changing the artwork in the story area. Estimated completion date is tentatively set for March.
Starting in January, second grade students began their AR program, titled “Dig into a Good Book”. Many have completed class lessons in the library and are now proficient in using the iBistro library catalog to find books by subject and title. All second through fifth grade students should be able to access the iBistro library catalog from the Old Town Elementary Webpage. AR titles can be found on the Library Catalog page under Reading Programs (yellow tab). The Old Town Elementary webpage is located at http://schools.roundrockisd.org/oldtown/
Kindergarten students will be introduced to the first of ten RRISD Librarian’s Armadillo Readers Choice (ARC) Award nominee book list for 2008-2009. Students will then vote for their favorite ARC book in May. Kindergarten and first grade will be enjoying the Armadillo Readers Choice books this semester. Math, science, social studies, language arts and technology TEKS concepts have been incorporated into ARC library lessons by the ARC district committee made up of our excellent RRISD elementary librarians.
At the end of January, 3rd through 5th grade students voted for their favorite Texas Bluebonnet book. To be eligible to vote, students must have read five or more books from the Texas Bluebonnet book list. Old Town Elementary students top three choices were: (1) Atherton: the House of Power by Patrick Carman, (2) The Invention of Hugo Cabret: A Novel in Words and Pictures by Brian Selznick, and (tied for 3rd) Tall Tales by Karen Day and How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O’Connor. All eligible 3rd through 5th grade students in the state of Texas voted for their favorite Texas Bluebonnet book and the winner will be announced in April at the Texas Library Association Conference in April. For more information on the Texas Bluebonnet Award and book list visit the TBA website (http://www.txla.org/groups/tba/).
Old Town Elementary Library Webpage:
http://teacherweb.com/TX/OldTownElementary/Library/index.html
AR titles can be found on the Library Catalog page under Reading Programs (yellow tab).
Have a Safe and Happy Holiday Break!
Nov282008
POSTED AT 02:29 PM
Library News
Mrs. Paulette Garza
November was
Native American Month. Along with posters of Native American pottery and
heritage on display in the library, were fiction books by Native American
authors and non-fiction books about Native American tribes, such as the Hopi,
Pueblo, Sioux and Cherokee tribes. Story time for kindergarten and first grade
included One Little, Two Little, Three
Little Pilgrims by B. G. Hennessy and This First Thanksgiving Day: A Counting
Story by by Laura Krauss Melmed.
Both books introduced students to the Wampanoags
(the Native American nation, made up of five tribes) that befriended the early pilgrims. First grade also participated in their first non-fiction research in
the library this month. First grade teachers and parents visited the library
with their respective classes to assist students in conducting a library
pilgrim research using map, listening, technology and critical thinking
skills.
November was
also the month of our Fall Scholastic Book Fair. As always, this event was a huge
success due to the students, parents and staff of Old Town Elementary. Thank
you all for coming out and supporting the Old Town Elementary Library. Twenty-five
percent of the sales is our book fair profit and goes towards buying books and
reading program materials, including incentives for the library. Julie Hudson,
our library assistant, and all our wonderful parent volunteers did a great job
setting up, creating the beautiful table top displays and assisting on preview
days and the day of the fair. New book arrivals will be on display soon.
December is
Holiday Cultural Awareness Month. Kindergarten storytime/read-aloud selections
will focus on winter holiday traditions around the world. Parents are invited
to assist in creating a cultural winter holiday display. First grade students
will be introduced to the first of ten RRISD Librarian’s Armadillo Readers
Choice (ARC) Award nominee book list for 2008-2009. Students will then vote for
their favorite ARC book in May. The ARC book for December will be Bean Thirteen by Matthew
McElligott. Math, science, social
studies, language arts and technology TEKS concepts have been incorporated into
ARC library lessons by the ARC district committee made up of our excellent
RRISD elementary librarians.
January is National Get Organized
Month and National Hobby Month. This month the display area will be dedicated
to both the library’s non-fiction organization (Dewey Decimal System) and to hobbies
and craft books. Students, parents, teachers and staff will be invited to
provide samples of their hobbies for the display area. Kindergarten students
will be introduced to the first book of twenty for the Mockingbird Book Program
this month and voting will occur later this Spring. First grade will continue
with their Armadillo Readers Choice nominee list and lessons. ARC books for
this month will be Strong Man: The Story
of Charles Atlas written and illustrated by Meghan McCarthy and Three Cabritos written by Eric Kimmel.
Old Town
Elementary Library Webpage:
http://teacherweb.com/TX/OldTownElementary/Library/index.html
AR titles
can be found on the Library Catalog page under Reading Programs (yellow tab).
Have
a Safe and Happy Holiday Break!
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