ASD Gets Graphic: Author Books for Sale and Signing

Don't miss your chance to purchase books and have them signed by our visiting authors! Book sales will begin on Sunday, February 26 in the Elementary Library.

We have several titles available by each of our visitors, Victoria Jamieson, Matthew Holm and George O'Connor. Prices vary depending on format, so please stop by the make your selection.

Students and parents are welcome to come by the Elementary Library throughout the day. Typically, the books usually sell out within a week. First come, first served!

When you purchase a book, we will label it with the name for the dedication and the class section for delivery. All books will be signed by the authors during their visit and returned to students homeroom classes by March 23, before Spring Break.

Please note, your are also welcome to bring in your own copies of books purchased outside the library to have labeled and signed.

ASD Gets Graphic: Visiting Authors Coming Soon

We will celebrate graphic novels in our reading community with Victoria Jamieson, Matthew Holm and George O'Connor joining us as authors and artists in residence from March 12 - 24, 2017. Our students are getting ready, reading as many graphic as they can get their hands on! We can't keep the books on the shelves! Each grade level in the Elementary School is exploring graphics in both library class and in their classrooms. We are examining elements of graphic novels such an panels, gutters, captions, dialogue balloons, motion lines and more! Learn more about our talented visitors below and by exploring their websites.

Victoria Jamieson 

www.victoriajamieson.com

Victoria Jamieson is a children's book and graphic novel author and illustrator. Her works include Roller Girl, winner of the 2016 Newbery Honor, The Great Pet Escape, Olympig and Bea Rocks the Flock. She studied illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design, and went on to receive her MA in Museum Studies at the University of Syndey. After living in Rome, Montreal, and Australia, she moved back to the United States, where she began working as a designer with a children's book publisher in New York City. She now lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and young son. Along with writing and illustrating, she teaches children's book illustration at Pacific Northwest College of Art.

  

 


Matthew Holm

www.matthewholm.net

Matthew Holm is the co-creator of two critically-acclaimed and award-winning graphic novel series for children, Babymouse and Squish. Together with his sister, author Jennifer L. Holm, the pair created both graphic novel series, and raised the profile of the graphic novel in children’s literature, as well as proved how important graphic novels can be in getting children to learn to read. Babymouse and Squish have become staples on classroom and library shelves around the world, and have enticed even the most reluctant readers into reading for pleasure. Matt is also a professional graphic designer and the Consulting Creative Director for Hot Knife Design, Inc., of Boston, Mass. He lives in Portland, Oregon, with his wife and dog.


                         


George O’Connor

www.olympiansrule.com

George O’Connor’s first graphic novel, Journey Into Mohawk Country, used as its sole text the actual historical journal of the seventeenth-century Dutch trader Harmen Meyndertsz van den Bogaert, and told the true story of how New York almost wasn’t. He followed that up with Ball Peen Hammer, the first graphic novel written by playwright Adam Rapp, a dark dystopian view of a society’s collapse as intimately viewed by four lost souls. Now he has brought his attention to Olympians, an ongoing series retelling the classic Greek myths in comics form. In addition to his graphic novel career, Mr. O’Connor has published several children’s picture books, including the New York Times best-selling Kapow, Sally and the Some-Thing, and Uncle Bigfoot. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.


                           

Student Librarians: Contributors in Our Learning Community

Our student librarians are contributors and leaders in our Elementary School community. Over the first half of the year, our student librarian team, made up of Grade 3, 4 and 5 volunteer students, have given hours of their time each week to work in the Elementary Library.

The student librarians volunteer during one of three times during the day; early morning before school, recess times or after school until 4pm. The team began the year with training sessions with Ms. Bello and Ms. Pollock, learning the layout of the library, the circulation system, and basic library procedures.

Responsibilities of the the student librarians include organizing shelves, assisting others in the library, cleaning books, shelving, managing the circulation desk and helping with special project such as visiting authors preparations.

We are excited to take our first ever student librarians field trip in March to the Emirates Literature Festival to see Francesca Simon, author of the Horrid Henry series.

We look forward to more outstanding work from our student librarians as the school year continues. Thank you for all your hard work and dedication and for setting an example for the rest of the community about what it means to give your time and make a difference!

Reimagining ASD Libraries

ASD Libraries are always working to improve and to enhance the experience for our students and our community. Our goal is to live our vision for ASD Libraries, making it a reality. 

"ASD Libraries serve to inspire and guide students on their personal learning pathways. The libraries provide students with ubiquitous access to relevant information through dynamic virtual and physical spaces. The libraries are a model and center for collaboration, communication and innovation."

As a K-12 Library team, we developed targets to help us reimagine our libraries and work towards our vision of dynamic spaces that enhance learning for a variety of students:

1. Create distinctive ASD Libraries identity and signage.
2. Develop collaborative, flexible study rooms and classrooms.
3. Create multi-purpose learning areas using dynamic, flexible and varied seating.
4. Enhance and showcase print collection with versatile, mobile shelving.
5. Create flexible check-in and circulation system.

Since June, our libraries have added new flexible and varied seating. Some seating provides opportunities for collaboration and some for independent reading. Some are "5-minute chairs" and some are "curl-up and stay for an hour" chairs. We realize that a variety of learners need a variety of seating.

Our library study rooms and classrooms have all had a major remodel. We have tables on wheels and light-weight stackable chairs. The rooms can be easily reconfigured in just a few minutes to meet the needs of learning and instruction. We have also added white boards to each space for students to show their thinking, either independently or as a group.

New book browsing bins and new magazine display shelving have also been added to enhance our students' browsing experience. A special thank you PTSA for helping fund our new front-facing magazine shelving and storage in both the Elementary and Secondary Libraries. We greatly appreciate your continued support as we make our libraries the best they can be for our students.

Students are excited about the new additions and changes! We love making improvements when our students are so appreciative and responsive to the changes. Look our for even more exciting additions in the next semester!

Congratulations summer readers!

Over the past few weeks, Mr. Advento, Ms. Bello and I have been visiting classes to congratulate students in K1-Grade 5 who participated in the Superhero Summer Reading Challenge. In total, 102 elementary students completed the challenge. Each student was presented with a certificate and congratulated by his or her homeroom class and teacher.

Students were encouraged to set a challenge for themselves over the summer. Reading across genres was encouraged as well as reading in-depth within an area of interest. Our students recorded their reading progress in a variety of different ways. Some documented their reading using images of the book covers, some made lists or collages, some used the Superhero grid, some made their own charts -- each one was unique and reflected thoughtful reading!

We have enjoyed hearing about all of the wonderful books our elementary students read over the summer. Congratulations to all of our super readers! And here's to another year of setting reading goals together.