Presidential Picks in the Library!

Books about elections, presidents, First Ladies, the Electoral College, women in politics and the White House are all on display and ready for check-out for all grade levels in the school library! Knowledge is power, and libraries are cornerstones of democracy...so come on in, kids, take a step toward good citizenship by reading a book!

In that spirit, we have been reading stalwart non-fiction about the process such as If I Ran for President and If I Were President, both by Catherine Stier.  Our Stone smarties brainstormed their own qualifications for holding executive office in library discussion.  Clearly, the are listening carefully to the news and to their parents' contemplations, and the children were also very respectful of one another's ideas.  Let's hope we choose a candidate who embodies all of their good suggestions, and who will support their bright futures!  Thank you for voting!

Book Fair Coming to Stone, November 7-10!

The Scholastic Book Fair will be coming to Stone Academy between November 7-10.  Hooray! Students who have classes with Ms. Esme that week on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday will be brought to the Book Fair with Ms. Esme during their library class time.  Classes on Wednesday and Friday will have Book Fair visits arranged with their classroom teachers.  There are some small items, like bookmarks and pencils, available for a couple of dollars.  Paperback books usually run between $6-12, and hardcovers between $15 - $30. If you send your child with money to shop, please put it in an envelope marked with your child's name and remind your child that the teacher can hold it for safekeeping.  If your child does not shop on the day of the Fair, s/he will be given a wish list, and parents can choose to accommodate during report card pick-up on Wednesday, November 9th. Proceeds benefit our school.   If you are interested in volunteering at the Fair, please contact Ms. Douglas through the PTA (thank you, Ms. Douglas!).  

Please also strongly consider purchasing an item from the library's "wish list" basket.  This allows all children, including ones whose families cannot afford at this time to make a purchase, to enjoy lovely new books in our school library.  Thank you for your support!  

Haunted House Museum is a Ghostly GO!

Last year, we decorated pumpkins with a children's book theme, but I have decided to alternate Halloween projects to keep things INNNteresting...and so, the answer to this October's most-asked question:

Yes, yes, yes, we WILL be having a Haunted House Museum in the library again this year!  But we need your participation to make it happen!
Here is the how-to and information being sent home with students:

How-to:  Take a cardboard box and cut holes in it for windows. Paint or otherwise cover the box with a seasonal color like orange, black, green or purple. Decorate the outside of your house with ghosts, trick-or-treaters, rotting trees…use your imagination! 

• No blood or gore or headless dolls, sorry! We are celebrating imagination and folklore, not horror.
• If you don’t celebrate Halloween, that’s fine! We welcome fall houses and autumn scenes as well.
• Please do not attach any real food to your creation. Cockroaches are even scarier than ghosts.
• Please do not include or attach anything valuable to your creation. 
• Yes, you can work with a friend or friends or family! 
• You can light it inside with a flashlight or battery-operated lights! 
• You don’t have to make it a house. It can be a haunted apartment building, or a haunted theater, or a haunted sports event, or a haunted store, or…whatever idea you have! 
• Please ask for a grown-up’s help for cutting out windows or when using new or messy craft materials. 
• This is not an assignment for a grade. This is for FUN! Middle schoolers get extra credit as needed and earned.
•  Haunted houses and fall houses are to be made at home. They can be dropped off in the library any morning through October 28. Haunted houses go home on Halloween.  Pick them up for a treat!
• Remember to put your name and room number clearly on your creation.

Again:  Houses will be accepted in the library before or right after morning announcements starting on Monday, October 24, though Friday, October 28 and students should pick up houses at the end of the day on Halloween. Sorry, the library cannot be responsible for houses left in November.    We have many new students at Stone this year; if children are working in a group, please think to invite and include a new classmate if possible.  Can't wait to see the children's monsterpieces masterpieces!

Follow up:  Good participation with about fifty entries, lots of teamwork and creativity...even a haunted washing machine this year! Great and inventive re-use of household materials all around.  We have also had an awesome autumn with primary classes enjoying semi-spooky stories.   After shivering to Denys Cazet's The Perfect Pumpkin Pie, Ms. Powers' second grade also had fun making paper-maché black cat and pumpkin puppets in library to facilitate our own best spooky storytelling!