Summer reading lists and journals will be distributed in a matter of days. The students are required to use the reading journals to log all of their summer reading. The journals will be collected at the end of September. Please aid your child in keeping their journals in a safe place.
Don't have a public library card? Public libraries are terrific and they offer your child a wide variety of reading. Over the summer you and your family might choose to visit Connecticut libraries all around the state. Some of these historical buildings tell a history all on their own. They are certainly worth a visit not only for the treasures that they contain, but also for their uniqueness.
Looking for something cost effective and new to do with the family this summer? Check out these fun and intriguing places, all within driving distance and all mind quenching.
The Scholastic Book Fair was a huge BOGO free success. Thanks to all of our gracious parent volunteers for helping Scholastic pass these wonderful savings on to our students and families.
The 2008 Caldecott and Newbery Award winners are now in the library. The Caldecott Medal is given annually to a children's book for distinguished illustrations. There are four runner-up books chosen and one gold medal winner. Brian Selznick is the Caldecott Medal winner this year for his book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Nominees receiving honor were, First the Egg, by Laura Vaccaro Seeger, Henry's Freedom Box, by Ellen Levine, Knuffle Bunny Too, by Mo Willems, and, The Wall: Growing Up behind the Iron Curtain, by Peter Sis. The Caldecott Award is named for English illustrator Randolph Caldecott, and the American Librarian Association presents the annual award.
The Newbery Award is presented annually by the American Library Association to the author of distinguished middle school literature. The award is named for English book seller John Newbery and has been in place since 1921. The Newbery Medal winner for 2008 is, Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! by Laura Amy Schlitz. The award nominees are Feathers, by Jacqueline Woodson, The Wednesday Wars, by Gary D. Schmidt, and Elijah of Buxton, by Christopher Paul Curtis.
Stop by the library to see if these books meet your own winning criteria.
All library books are due by Friday June 6, 2008. If you have outstanding late fees, or if you have any unconcluded library business, please wrap-up the end of the year transactions this week. In advance I thank you.
The Six Flags free admission tickets were distributed Wednesday, April 23 to all of our students who fulfilled the six hour reading challenge. The reading incentive was offered to students in grades kindergarten through six. On the bottom of the ticket it reads, "Teacher pass." Please disregard this statement. These are in fact the passes that Six Flags has offered to our students and they will be good at the gate. The students are aware that there are no replacement tickets so please keep them in a safe place until they can be used.
Congratulations to all of our readers, and have a great day at the park!
Freerice.com is a website that will enable us to stretch our minds while also making a positive impact on the world, one grain at a time. Curious? Check it out and let the feeding begin.
For each word that we get correct, 20 grains of rice will be donated to the United Nations World Food Program. One correct word equals twenty grains of rice. So, if you're not doing anything, pull up the site and feed the hungry!
Grades three and four will be participating in a Book Bingo Reading Incentive Program for the next several weeks. The students were given a grid consisting of an entire host of book titles, genre selections, and specific authors. To form bingo, one needs simply to complete five books from the row of their choice on the grid. Very Important Information: It is not uncommon for our ambitious readers to complete the bingo assignment and continuing their reading by devouring the entire grid! I anticipate great efforts from hungry readers.
The grade three and four Book Bingo grids are all due by Friday, May 23, 2008. Congratulations to all students who have already completed the reading journey.
April is National Poetry Month and was inaugurated in 1996 by the Academy of American Poetry. In the library we have been exploring the poetry world by reading the works from a wide variety of poets. Some of our favorites are:
Elizabeth Bishop, William Blake, E.E. Cummings, Emily Dickinson, T.S. Eliot, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Eve Merriam, Marianne Moore, Edna St. Vincent Millay,
Jack Prelutsky, Shel Silverstein, Christina Rossetti, Sara Teasdale, Margaret Wise Brown, and William Wordsworth.
For the next several weeks we will be writing our own poetry and posting our pieces on our school website for you to enjoy. I encourage all of our students, parents, and teachers to write and submit their work. All poetry submittals will be in keeping with the same code of conduct that we adhere to in school. All submittals should be posted to the St. Stephen School website, saintstephenschool@gmail.com to the attention of Mrs. Wilonski.
Here are some poetry writing tips to get you started:
The Ride
Rustling assignments,
an obtrusive scooting seat,
stale, solid air,
cadence of chalk striking the board.
Her longing to ride had
betrayed her need to concentrate.
The ticking clock, her vigil.
Pencil bouncing between her slender fingers.
The sound of emancipation erupts.
Intoxicated, hastily packing up the day,
exiting, stream-like,
meandering cavernous hallways.
Outside glistening chrome,
forlorn, shiny and cold.
Mounting the frame, sitting tall, gripping.
High-top sneakers perched on pavement.
One forceful leg thrust sends
exhilaration in motion, motoring,
increasing speed, rounding the bend,
pumping, panting, skimming smooth pavement.
Flat surfaces shimmer.
Steamy puddles splash
skidding over sidewalks
snatching her shirt.
Swerving snake-like, soaring.
Carefree careening over hills,
airborne for an instant... hovering...
Warm reluctant rubber returns to the road.
Mrs. Wilonski, Librarian
At Dawn
At Dawn I lay awake.
Waiting for the moon to go down,
And it's memory of glistening on the lake.
When morning comes the sun shall glisten,
And heat brought upon the earth.
Tiara Pearson, Grade 7
Dolphins
I wonder what it's like to swim.
It's probably easier because you have a fin.
You must like the ocean.
It has a great motion.
I'd like to be a dolphin like you.
So I could glide through the water too!
Madison Ledford, Grade 3
Wonder
As I sit here wondering
about the world's whys;
why does a bird chirp?
Why does a bee buzz?
Why does a rabbit romp?
Why do people dance?
And why does a baby laugh?
I soon figure it all out.
They do because
they do.
Kristina D'Agostino, Grade 6
Battle
As we battle here
under the red sun,
we may never see
the break of day again.
As we battle here,
the enemy never ends,
This may be the end
of all ends.
Kristina D'Agostino, Grade 6
The Waiting Is Over
The sun was warm
but the wind was chilled.
The gust of spring wind,
like a miracle of God's Will.
All the birds and squirrles were still
on the edge of Cotton Hill.
Every heart began to blossom,
the here of spring was so awsome.
Austyn Selmquist, Grade 5
Night Noises, Sleepless Me!
Everynight I hear it,
ti top, ti top,
cling, clang, cling, clang.
It's my sister's hamster.
I wonder why they're nocturnal?
I think, and think, but how much can I?
I look in books but I don't know
why the hamster keeps me awake.
Still, I am happy that there
is something for me to find out
in my future.
But first I need some sleep!
Kaitlin D'Agostino, Grade 4
Yearboook Signature
Read see that me I end to friend up will I like will year's let best and you like you write school you my down and you as this at know you're
Angelyn Cannon, Grade 6
Books and John
John is my cousin, he was a week late.
For that week we all waited
for the happy phone call
telling us
about our beautiful new "addition."
John and I will always have
a special bond for two reasons-
One, we were both born
in the Year Of The Pig.
Two, I love books.
He was born
on November 30 at 9:20 a.m.
At that moment
I was talking to Mrs.Wilonski
about good books.
Angelyn Cannon, Grade 6
Mrs. Wilonski
School Librarian
In February St. Stephen School celebrated Black History Month which has been recognized in America since 1926.
Here are some of our top reading picks:
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech on August 28, 1963, on the steps of the Washington, D.C., Lincoln Memorial. Here is an excerpt:
"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.' I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today."
To view the speech in its entirety, please see Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers project at Stanford University.
You may have noticed your child coming home with more reading selections from our library. I have determined that some students are in need of more than their typical two book quota during their weekly library visit. I have hurled our readers into a new policy allowing them to check out what they need to get them through the week. If this poses a hardship for any family, please let me know. Trying to contain a reader is like tethering a wild buck with a shoelace.
Each week our first grade readers will be selecting a storybook in addition to an early reader. Reading together at home is a nurturing experience, and storybooks are great way to adhere to the valuable concept of family reading. In addition to other reading and learning components, the early reader books allow young readers to continue practicing their reading skills, build vocabulary, while promoting reading independence. This instills confidence among young learners and plants the seeds of good reading habits, thus producing a bountiful harvest of readers. The more we read the better a reader we become.
Kindergarten students will be checking out only early readers starting this month. This will enable them to practice what they have been working toward in the classroom. Congratulations to our new readers. We welcome you to our world of adventure and wonder. Seek and you shall find, read and you shall know.
Congratulations to Mrs. Fortuna's top two Fifth graders Brandon Worthy and Zachary Dillon, who went above and beyond. They completed all 14 Reading Book Selections for the 2008 Connecticut Nutmeg Reading Program.
The fifth grade class will be creating dioramas of their favorite Nutmeg reading scene this week. They will be on display upon completion in the front foyer but will also spill over into the library. Be on the lookout for this awesome project!
The Scholastic Book Fair was once again a huge success thanks in part to your kind generosity. There were 27 books purchased and donated to the school library, and the raffle brought in $243.00 for the library as well. Serena Korkmaz was our raffle winner and was issued a gift certificate to be used at the Buy One Get One Free Book Fair that will be held in May. She was also presented with a dress down day ticket. Congratulations Serena!
Thanks to all of our beautiful volunteers for making our book fair possible; we couldn't do it without you!
St. Stephen School Governors Summer Reading information is distributed to students in June during the last week of school. The results of summer reading are collected in September. Our students did an exceptional job in logging their summer reading entries and returning to school in September with journals in hand. All students who returned a journal received dress down day tickets, and top readers per class received additional dress down day tickets. In addition, top readers per class received a coupon to be used at the Scholastic Book Fair held at the end of this month. Our top readers from each grade were:
St. Stephen readers collectively read 1,575 books over the summer and we proudly submitted that total to Governor Rells office. Congratulations to our readers for a job well done!
The Required Reading Comprehension Programs for grades five, six, and seven began in September and concluded January 31, 2008 allowing twenty-two weeks to fulfill the seven book reading requirement. Many of our students not only completed the reading requirements but also propelled themselves on to read additional titles earning extra credit toward their reading grade. Congratulations to our students who successfully fulfilled their reading obligations. You have displayed an outstanding reading effort.
Grade Five:
Grade Six:
Grade Seven:
Mrs. Wilonski
School Librarian