Students will be browsing the book fair next week. The book fair will be open for purchase April 2-5. Hope to see you there!

The Battle of the Books tryouts will be the week of February 20th. The Primary team (second and third graders) will be chosen through oral quizzing. The Intermediate team (fourth and fifth graders) will be chosen through a written test. Tryouts are open to all students in grades 2-5. Three students per grade level will be chosen to be on the teams (two plus one alternate per grade). If you want to represent Westside on the Battle of the Books team, make sure you are reading Battle Books and studying the authors! Good luck!

In library, K-3 students have been reading the Kentucky Bluegrass Award Nominees.  We will finish those this week and will vote for our favorite choices after Thanksgiving break!  Fourth and fifth grade students have been learning about the genres of different Battle Books.  We have done Fantasy, Science Fiction, Mystery, and we are currently reading Historical Fiction. After Thanksgiving, all grade levels will be hearing Christmas stories!

Our Book Fair will be delivered on Friday!  Your children will have a chance to browse and make a wish list next week on Monday or Tuesday.

 Happy Reading!

Mrs. Dale

Dear Parents and Families:

Reading is the most important skill you can teach a child. Of all the skills children learn, it is the one you can influence the most.

We invite you to visit our Scholastic Book Fair and experience a celebration of reading that provides families the opportunity to get involved in a universal mission: encouraging kids to read every day so they can lead better lives.

Our Scholastic Book Fair theme – To the Book Fair and Beyond! – is part of an out-of-this-world reading event that brings to school a wonderful selection of fun, engaging, and affordable books kids want to read. Giving kids access to good books and the opportunity to choose their own books will motivate them to read more. And like most acquired skills, the more kids practice reading, the better they’ll get.

Reading is vital to every child’s success, and raising kids as readers means getting involved while they’re young. Now is the time. Since there will never be a substitute for a parent’s direct involvement in his/her child’s education, please make plans to visit our Book Fair. Hope to see you there!

Book Fair Dates:                      Monday, November 28 – Thursday, December 1

Shopping Hours:                      Mon.- Wed. 8:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. & Thurs.-8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

Special Events:             Tuesday, November 29  Shop before our Music Program 5:00-6:30 p.m.

If you’re all booked up during Book Fair week (or just want to keep shopping), be sure to visit the Book Fair online at  http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/homepage/bookfairwestside . The online Book Fair is available for an extended time from December 1 to December 8

·       Find an expanded selection of books for the whole family—preschool to adults

·       Share your Book Fair with family and friends by sending wish lists or eCards

·       All orders ship to school for FREE and each purchase benefits our school

Sincerely,

Allie Dale, Librarian, 234-7115

On September 13, we had a great author visit with Kentucky Author, Melissa Burton.  She talked about her book Daniel Boone: The Pioneer Spirit.  She brought many Pioneer artifacts and a Fort Boonesborough model to show the students. A great time was had by all!

K/1  Thanksgiving Books

2/3 Appalachian Books–Angel Coming and I Was Young in the Mountains

4/5 Discussed the genres of Fantasy and Science Fiction

In addition to these activities, all classes also watched a short video advertising our book fair which arrives tomorrow! 

Our Book Fair will be delivered next Friday, November 20!  Students will be browsing the 2 days before Thanksgiving.  They will be able to purchase books the Monday after we come back from Thanksgiving Break! 

Our Mystery Book Club Skype chat with author Eric Berlin was great!  The fourth and fifth grade students asked him many great questions!  Here are some photos from that event!

Answer one or more of the follow questions formulated by your classmates.  Make sure you type the question number you are answering.

8.  Spottedleaf told Firepaw that Starclan had spoken to her many moons ago and told her that only "fire can save the clan." What do you think this means?

9.  Will Firepaw be able to tell Bluestar the truth about Tigerclaw?  If so, when?

10.  What do you think will happen to Ravenpaw? 

It was a dark and stormy night, a perfect night for a mystery!  Last night, Westside's fourth and fifth grade Mystery Book Club had a Mystery Dinner Pizza Party.  Detectives solved the mystery of the stolen autographed bookplate.  They listened to suspects' statements, found evidence in two crime scenes, and came up with possible solutions to the crime.  Congratulations to Detectives Devin, Kevin, and Havanna for correctly discovering who the criminal was, what her motive was, and where the bookplate could be found!  It was a fun night! 

Crime Scene 1

Crime Scene 2

 Investigating Crime Scene 1

Looking at the suspects

Investigating Crime Scene 2