Wanamaker had a school-wide spirit week to celebrate Read Across America and Dr. Seuss's birthday. The library got in on the action by hosting a birthday party for Dr. Seuss in all the library classes. Mrs. Reinert read a different Dr. Seuss story to each grade level. Grades K-3 followed the story with a related activity while Grades 4-6 gained knowledge about Dr. Seuss's life by viewing a Google Slide Show. In addition, the older grades learned that while some of Dr. Seuss's books are filled with fun illustrations and creative rhyming, they also carry a serious message. For instance, the 6th graders learned that The Butter Battle Book is Dr. Seuss's perspective on the nuclear arms race between the U.S. and Russia during the Cold War. The 5th graders learned that Yertle the Turtle depicts Hitler and his dictatorship during WW II, and the 4th graders took a look at environmentalism in The Lorax.

Songs based on Dr. Seuss's stories were played during check-out time, and all students put their name in the Cat's hat in hopes of being one of the lucky winners of the many items given away in a drawing.

We had a great time in the library this week!

The annual Scholastic Book Fair held in February during Parent -Teacher conferences turned out to be a success. Due to bad weather and the cancellation of some P-T conferences, the fair was extended a week. The teachers came for a preview breakfast while the students previewed the fair during their library classes early in the week. Mrs. Armstrong, the library assistant, worked her magic as usual and transformed the library with decorations that promoted the fair theme of "Dino-Mite Book Fair: Stomp, Chomp, and Read." Geronimo made an appearance and kicked off the fair! A couple of contests livened things up as well--the students entered a guessing contest of estimating how many lava rocks (marshmallows) were in the jar, and Mrs. Fairchild's class had the most visitors to the fair, so she received two new books for her classroom library.

THANK YOU to everyone who helped make the book fair a success! The success of the book fair would not be possible without the support and enthusiasm of the entire WE community. The book fair always serves as a great reminder of how Wanamaker truly loves and values the power of reading. A special thank you to Cheryl Fewell, Book Fair Chairperson, and all the other volunteers whose help was greatly appreciated!

The 4th grade classes researched Famous Kansans the month of January. This project was a collaborative effort with the 4th grade teachers, the art instructor, and the librarian. The students researched their person (who had some connection to Kansas), using both print and digital sources. They wrote their reports and cited their sources. The students' reports were displayed in the hallway, along with portraits of the famous Kansans that students drew during their art classes. This project utilized many skills and the students worked hard on them. Hopefully, you were able to take a minute to check out the 4th grade hallway during parent-teacher conferences, and learn a little bit about one (or more) of our famous Kansans!

The students wrapped up their projects in library class by using the FlipGrid app to tell what they found most interesting/surprising about their Famous Kansan. Click on the link below to hear some of their responses.

If you've ever seen the movie Jaws, you'll appreciate the work the first graders have been doing in library class! After our read aloud of Clark the Shark and his adventures, the students did their own research on sharks using the database PebbleGo. They learned all kinds of cool facts about the shark species of their choice. They shared their findings on colored paper in a hallway display. Great work, beginning first grade researchers!

The Bucks 4 Books campaign held during February brought in over $1,000.00. This will allow Wanamaker students to make a sizable donation to the American Library Association for the Haiti Relief Fund. This fund is used to help re-build libraries around the world that have been destroyed by natural disasters. A couple of years ago, Wanamaker donated $2,000.00 and our school was featured in an online article published by ALA.

The campaign allowed our younger students to work on learning their money concepts. Everyone who donated their change also enjoyed the feeling one gets when contributing to a worthwhile cause. We are grateful to have such a nice collection in our school library, and we want others around the world to experience the power of books as well.

The classroom donating the most money at each grade level will be rewarded with an extra recess. The classroom donating the most money overall (Mrs. Kromminga's 6th grade class) will be treated to a Freddy's lunch sometime in May.

Thank you to our families who donated to this school-wide fundraiser!

March 4-- 3rd graders Skype with author Kate Messner

March 11-15-- Spring Break

March 22-- Battle of the Books meeting during 4th, 5th, and 6th grade lunch hours

March 26-- Book Club meeting at 8:00 a.m. in the library

March 27-- 5th graders Skype with author Liesl Shurtliff

March 29-- Student Council meeting at 8:00 a.m. in the library