Book club members were challenged to walk a mile in the shoes of a character different from themselves this past month. Popular choices were Out of My Mind, Wonder, The Running Dream, and Mockingbird. After sharing some great books (I know I added several to my own "to-read" list!), we talked about how so many of our characters would have loved a kind word and how our fellow students could often use the same. We brainstormed ways we could make someone's day a little brighter. After writing encouraging notes, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade book club members took to the shelves to "kind bomb" the library by hiding small notes in books around the media center for others to find. You never know when someone could use a word of encouragement. Hopefully you'll find one of our notes and it'll brighten your day! Next month our theme will be "read the movie." Students will pick a book that has been (or is being!) made into a movie and we'll be recasting it with the actors and actresses we would have liked to see play our favorite characters. Stop by the movie display in the fiction section for a few ideas, or see Mrs. Keefer for a suggestion! Want to be reminded of our next meeting? Sign up for text reminders with Remind101 and have notifications sent directly to your mobile device. It's easy and free!
Students who cast their vote last month in the SC Junior Book Award election had a chance to celebrate today during the Springfield Middle SC Junior Book Award Voting Party, where they enjoyed lunch, time with friends, and an unveiling of the 2014-15 South Carolina Junior Book Award winner. The top reader in each grade level was also honored with a special prize. So which nominee was named winner? None other than S.A. Bodeen's The Raft! While some SMS students were surprised by the results, many correctly predicted the winner. The Raft was one of three nominees to win our local school vote, as part of a three-way tie. A total of 59,000 students from 500 schools across the state participated in the SC Book Award voting this year. Thank you and congratulations to all those who participated! Were you one of our voters? If not, don't miss your chance to vote for next year's winner and let your voice be heard!
We were all excited to see which books made it to the next round today. There was a major upset when Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone lost out to Holes! How is your bracket looking? If you'd like to try out one of the books that made the tournament this year, check out the March Book Madness display on the back wall in the fiction section ... more titles are coming soon!
The 8th Grade Book Club took on the ambitious task of entering the SC Junior Book Award Banner contest, hosted by the South Carolina Association of School Librarians (SCASL), with very little time to spare. For the past week, their Shadow and Bone banner (middle banner in the above photo) has hung in the Columbia Convention Center, representing Springfield Middle at the 40th Annual SCASL Conference. Their work and dedication to this project was admirable, and we are so thrilled to announce that their banner was awarded 3rd place in the Junior Book Awards category. Congratulations!!
Yesterday's Digital Scavenger Hunt was great fun - thank you to all who participated! If you didn't have a chance to stop by, you can still get in on the fun by exploring the library's online resources, checking out our great eBooks, and writing a few book reviews in Destiny Quest. We capped off our Teen Tech Week activities today with a "DIY Your Supplies" session and had a great time designing and cutting decals for our water bottles, binders, notebooks, and more. Thank you to everyone who everyone who stopped by this week to help us celebrate! If you enjoyed innovating and creating this week, stay tuned for more information about our MAYker Monday sessions, happening in the media center each Monday during the month of May. More details coming soon!
Today also marked the unveiling of round one winners and the first day of round two voting for March Book Madness. Check out the standings ... how is your bracket doing?
Were you able to match all of the characters and books to their tweets? Here are the answers ... how did you do?
A special thanks to Kayli R. for helping to choose the books and characters used for this challenge! Mrs. Keefer will randomly select a winner from today's participants to win a prize. The winner will be announced tomorrow - stay tuned! Teen Tech Week continues tomorrow in the media center with #SHELFie. Stop by and take a selfie with your favorite book on our shelves! We'll post your creations around the media center. Thank you to all of the students who helped kick off Teen Tech Week today with our button maker activity! There were so many unique creations made today. Don't forget to stop by the media center tomorrow during lunch to participate in our "what if your favorite characters had tech?" challenge. Match the characters/books with their tweets and be entered to win a prize. Mrs. Keefer will announce the winner Wednesday!
We are so excited to kick off Teen Tech Week tomorrow in the media center! This year's theme is "Make It at Your Library" and we can't wait to see what you will make. Here's an overview of the fun things we have planned ... all students are welcome to stop by the media center during their lunch period to participate. See Mrs. Keefer with any questions! Monday – Use your measurement, construction, and strategic skills to design and create your own buttons – what will you come up with? Tuesday – What if your favorite (fictional) teen had tech? Stop by and match the character tweets with the books they’re from. Students who correctly match all of the characters will be entered for a prize! Wednesday – #SHELFIE! Stop by and take a selfie of yourself with your favorite book. We’ll post a few around the library! Thursday – Go on a digital scavenger hunt around the web! Come get your first clue at the media center … complete the hunt and get a treat! Friday – Want a monogram on your binder? Your favorite band name on your water bottle? Your own creation on your notebook? Come with something plain and leave with something awesome! Bring something you’d like to personalize and come design a cool image to decorate it. While you're in and out enjoying our fun activities this week, make sure to stop by and check out our Vintage Tech display! It's full of fun tech your teachers have pulled out of their closets and attics ... can you recognize all of the devices?
Voting for round one of March Book Madness opened today for several of our Language Arts classes. We had a great time voting for our picks, but it's not too late to vote! Students in participating classes can vote from now until this round closes on March 10, either in their classrooms or in the media center. Keep a watch on the bulletin board across from the media center to see which books advance to the Sweet 16! Students can also earn an extra bracket point by participating in an optional activity each round. This round's activity is a FlipGrid. Several 8th graders did a great job recording pitches for their favorite books today! Check out their videos below (you will need a password provided by your Language Arts teacher or Mrs. Keefer to view). Want to earn an extra point this round? Stop by the media center before round one voting closes on the 10th to record your video. That extra point might just mean the difference between a winning bracket and a close second place! |
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May 2020
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