Forest North Library Blog

Coins for Coats

2011-11-02T10:44:00.000-07:00

Guest Blogger: Mrs. Lajaunie, Library Assistant

The sweet sound of coins dropping into milk jugs filled Forest North classrooms last month. Round Rock ISD kicked off the Coins for Coats donation drive on Oct. 12th. Mrs. Fournier, along with her team of caring 4th graders, led the campaign at Forest North. This year's drive was a HUGE success! All together our Eagles raised $452! This money goes directly to the The Round Rock Serving Center to provide coats this winter for students in need. Mrs. James' Kindergarten class won 30 minutes of special reading time in the library for raising the most money at Forest North. Flashlight Friday meant that while Mrs. James got 30 minutes of additional planning time, her students read in the library with the lights off with Mrs. Fournier. RRISD raised close to $12,000 this year which is about $3,000 more than the previous record! Thank you to all of our eager Eagles who are always ready and willing to help. About 1,200 RRISD students will be warmed this winter because of your generosity, and 352 of them will be all because of our generosity at Forest North.

For more information about Coats for Kids and the Round Rock Serving Center, visit https://www.rrasc.org/index.php

Online Book Fair through 10/21

2011-10-10T07:50:00.000-07:00

The Book Fair was an intergalatic success! Please feel free to access our online bookfair through 10/21 and buy more books. 25% of all sales go directly back to the FNE Library to buy library books for students. So far, we have raised $935 for the FNE Library. Hopefully we can get a little more through our online book fair. Thanks for your support, Eagles!

The Book Fair!

2011-10-06T14:34:00.000-07:00

The Book Fair is over tomorrow, and we haven't gotten any comments yet on our blog giveaway! Leave a comment with your favorite thing about the book fair, and you'll be entered for a chance to win $10 tomorrow at the Book Fair!

Library Book Fair!

2011-10-05T07:43:00.000-07:00

Our Library Book Fair is up and running! The theme this fall is Book Fair and Beyond: Reading is Out of this world!

The in-person fair goes until Friday at 1 pm, but after that, you can still shop online at the link below until 10/23. Thank you so much for supporting the Forest North Library! All profits will be put towards buying new books for the library.

Please leave a comment with your favorite thing about the book fair to be entered in a drawing on Friday for a $5 gift certificate to the Book Fair!

Thanks so much to all who attended Family Night last night from 4-7 PM. We made balloon animals, got our faces painted, got additional raffle tickets for our morning broadcast drawings, and bought books- what a fun night!

Here's the link once again to our online fair, if you want to copy and paste: http://onlinebookfairs.scholastic.com/default.aspx?f=2872244

Bluebonnets available on Thursday!

2011-09-13T09:57:00.000-07:00

The most popular question in the library since school started is "Where are the Bluebonnet books?" Mrs. Fournier is thrilled about this, and bought more copies than ever to meet our intense demand for the nominated titles. Last year, over 90 kids attended the voting Wii party. 3rd-5th graders are invited to participate again! Here are our Bluebonnet Champions last year, who won 3rd place in our district Battle of the Bluebonnet. Way to represent us, Eagles! Who will represent Forest North this year? You can qualify by reading all 20 books. If there are more than 5 students again who read all 20 nominees, then we will have another campus level battle. The top 5 winners of that Battle will go on to the District battle! As you can see in our video, Ms. Jacobs, our principal, came to support us- everyone is invited to come root for us again! See you there, Eagles.

10 Reasons to Read to Your Child

2011-09-06T05:56:00.000-07:00

Here's a great article on 10 reasons why it's important to read to your child.

welcome back to school

2011-08-15T06:14:00.000-07:00

It's almost here, Eagles- the first day of school! I can't wait to see all of our returning students, and to meet our new ones as well. Orientations in the library will almost all take place during the first week of school. Students will be allowed to check out books during orientations after we review book care and how to check out a book.

PreK students check out one book for school use only. Kindergarten students check out one book and may take it home with them.

1st and 2nd grades may check out two books at a time. When they bring back one, they can check out another one. When they bring back two books, they can check out two more books.

3rd, 4th and 5th graders can all check out 3 books at a time. However many books they return, they may check out again.

Parents are welcome to get their own personal library account. They have unlimited checkout. They can send the books back with their student to school when they're done with the books.

There are no overdue book fees at Forest North. If you lose or damage a book though, we will need you to pay for a replacement. Lost or damaged books can be paid for by cash or a check made out to Forest North Library. Please include your phone number and a valid state ID number as well.

I can't wait to see you, Eagles!

Camp Bluebonnet 2011- Thursday

2011-08-05T15:24:00.000-07:00

Thursdays were our last day at Camp Bluebonnet. How sad! It flew by. On our last day, we read Balarama: a royal elephant, and did lots of fun activities and snacks relating to India and elephants! Check out what we did in this video, especially our awesome Bollywood dancing!

Camp Bluebonnet 2011 - Wednesday

2011-08-02T15:22:00.000-07:00

Today we read Phil Bildner's Hallelujah Flight. Phil Bildner is going to vist our school this year! How exciting that we'll have a real Bluebonnet author visiting us! Check out all of the activities and food we had on Wednesday relating to our book:

Camp Bluebonnet 2011 - Tuesday

2011-07-31T15:21:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday we read The Duchess of Whimsy! It was awesome. See all the activities and food we ate relating to the book in this video:

Camp Bluebonnet 2011 - Monday

2011-07-30T15:28:00.001-07:00

Hello Forest North! We had 2 awesome sessions of Camp Bluebonnet this summer through the RRISD Community Education Center. It was great to see some of my favorite Eagles even during our vacation! Here's a video of what we did on the first day of camp. If you like it, keep your eyes peeled for flyers going home this spring regarding next summer's camp!

American Library Assocation 2011 Annual Conference

2011-06-28T14:47:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Fournier, your loyal librarian, had a whirlwind trip to New Orleans for the 2011 American Library Association 2011 Annual Conference!

First, I had to drive for 10 hours to get there. I checked in at my awesome hotel, the Renaissance Arts. I shared a room to save money. My roommate was Sheri Boggs, who was also on the 2011 Theodor Suess Geisel Committee with me! Look how cool my hotel was! Here's a picture of this cool art made out of puzzles at the check in desk and a picture of the cool chandelier.

I had a wonderful time touring New Orleans and its rich history. Here are some of my favorite moments!

1. Eating beignets at Cafe du Monde with some old friends from library school
2. Posing near a giant snow globe with the cover of the new Wimpy Kid book inside
3. Letterboxing in the garden district and seeing lots of streetcars
4. A skull with "offerings" at the Voodoo Museum
5. A house where one of my favorite authors wrote a book!
6. A cool old jazz club on the famous Bourbon Street.

Of course, my very favorite moments were meeting some of my favorite authors! We were so lucky to be invited to lunch or dinner with each of our 3 Geisel award winners and honorees. I was so sad to miss lunch with our winning authors and illustrators from Bink & Gollie (you'll see why later), but had a great dinner with Mo Willems and a great lunch with Grace Lin, who both won Geisel honors in 2011, and my pal Sheri Boggs sent me photos of the great stuff we got from the authors, illustrator, and publishers of Bink & Gollie - most special to me being a watch!

After these wonderful meals, I was also graciously invited by Little, Brown & Co to attend the Newbery Caldecott Wilder Banquet. It's a special night where everyone gets really dressed up and listens to speeches from the people who won the most prestigious awards in children's literature for the year. It was a very special moment in my career as a Librarian!

I was also a lucky duck and got to sit next to Grace Lin! Even though I'd had lunch with her earlier that day, I never got to talk much to her then, so this was a very special meal for me!

I was also sitting at a table with two other famous authors - Andrea Davis Pinkney and Jewell Parker Rhodes.

As soon as the Newbery winner, Clare Vanderpool, finished her great speech, I jumped in my car and drove all through the night back to Austin! It was quite an adventure, and I was surprised that I barely got tired. I got back just in time to take a shower, pick up Shelby, my junior counselor, and to be right on time for CAMP BLUEBONNET! More on that later!

I didn't forget you either, Forest North! I lugged this giant bag of books (it must weigh 50 pounds!) from the Convention Center back to my hotel, and then drove it all the way back to Austin. I took a picture of the stack of books (there are 23 - I need to make sure they're all good for elementary students) but it doesn't look nearly as heavy as it felt to carry it for a half mile in the heat!

New Awesome Books!

2011-06-07T14:16:00.000-07:00

Two new exciting books to report today! First, there is a new Gerald and Piggie book out by Mo Willems! It's called Should I Share My Ice Cream? Also, I finished one of our Bluebonnet books, The Shadows from The Books of Elsewhere and it's awesome! The second Book of Elsewhere, Spellbound, will be released in 4 weeks. Mrs. Fournier will work on getting a copy for our library as quickly as possible! Check out this awesome video about The Books of Elsewhere!

Camp Bluebonnet!

2011-06-03T09:37:00.000-07:00

There are still a few spots left in our June session. Come sign up for Camp Bluebonnet with Mrs. Fournier (and Mrs. Kuperzstoch, the Brushy Creek Elementary Librarian) and be ready for the voting party before school even starts! Go to the website listed to register your incoming 3rd, 4th or 5th grade student. All RRISD 3rd-5th grade students are welcome! We'll be posting entries each day after we do our awesome activities at Camp!

Mrs. Fournier serving on Armadillo Committee!

2011-06-03T08:14:00.001-07:00

I'm thrilled to announce that I have been asked to serve on the 2011-2012 Armadillo Readers Choice Award Committee. I met with my other committee members in the past few weeks to get our nominees together, and they've been announced! The nominees are:

Wink wins Armadillo Readers Choice Award!

2011-06-03T08:01:00.000-07:00

Hello Eagles! I hope your summer is starting off swimmingly. I'm happy to report that Wink: the ninja who wanted to be noticed has officially won the Armadillo Readers Choice Award for 2010-2011! It definitely won by a landslide here at Forest North, and when all the votes were tallied around Round Rock ISD, it still beat out all the other competition.

Stay tuned to a library near you in the fall, because we're going to get a copy of the sequel- Wink, the ninja who wanted to nap! Other favorite Armadillo titles from this year are also already available for checkout, so keep your eyes peeled. If they're checked out when you come in, you can always put it on hold!

Summer Reading

2011-05-26T14:51:00.001-07:00

Can you believe we only have one day of school left? I can't! I know just the thing to keep you entertained and your reading skills sharp during summer break - read some of the 2011-2012 Bluebonnet Books! You could buy them at a book store, or borrow them for free at your local library! The Spicewood Branch of the Austin Public Library just came to Forest North last Friday for a visit and told us all about the fun events they're having this summer. Stop by for their awesome summer programs like a dance party, dog police officers, tap-dance man, Dinosaurs Vs. Aliens, and the Chicken Big puppet show! Don't forget to check out some of these awesome new 2011-2012 Bluebonnet Book Award nominees while you're there. If they're all checked out, you can put books on hold there too just like at school!

Forest North Library's Student Volunteers

2011-05-25T16:39:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Fournier is planning for next year. Schools around the country are facing cuts. Forest North was forced to destaff the library assistant position this year, which was a challenge. Next year, we will be even more short-staffed. Write letters to your local government asking them to change things! In the meantime, Mrs. Fournier is coming up with creative solutions. She has lots of awesome student helpers that come during recess or after school! Consider this a sneak preview for next year...

Popsicle Update!

2011-05-22T14:23:00.000-07:00

Only six students with eight books are still checked out! Almost all of Forest North has turned in all of their library books.

Congratulations to the following classes for earning their Popsicle parties: Craycroft, James, Perkins, Rosenbaum, Ellis, Guerra, Johnson, Rhea, Moore, Nixon, Mhatey, & Rugerio!

You rock, Eagles!

Only 23 students have books left!

2011-05-19T18:23:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Mrs. Rugerio's morning and afternoon classes, Mrs. Moore's class, Mrs. Nixon's class, Ms. Rosenbaum's class and Mrs. James' class!

They have all earned their popsicle parties! All students and the teacher turned in every single library books.

Many other classes are super close... who else will have a popsicle tomorrow? Make sure you turn in all your library books fast!

2011-05-11T17:11:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Fournier passed out over 100 overdue notices today to students at Forest North! Make sure you turn all your books in by Tuesday- all classes that turn in all books (students and teacher!) by Tuesday, 5/17 will get a Popsicle Party on Friday, May 20th!

RRISD's district-wide deadline for all books to be turned in is Tuesday, May 17th. Turn in all your books to help Mrs. Fournier do her annual inventory, and to earn your class a popsicle party!

Armadillo Readers Choice Sock Hops

2011-05-09T13:48:00.000-07:00

April 15th was a special day at Forest North! We had a celebration in the library! Kindergarten, 1st grade and 2nd grade spent 10 weeks reading the 10 nominated books for the Armadillo Readers Choice Award. Each week, when students exhibited library expectations in the library, they earned a card. Classes that earned all 10 of their cards were invited to the Armadillo Readers Choice Sock Hops! The winning Armadillo Readers Choice Book this year was Wink- the Ninja who Wanted to be Noticed! Stay tuned to see if it wins throughout RRISD, Eagles!

The Sock Hop was a blast. Kids dressed up in 1950s outfits, slicked back their hair or put it in a ponytail, and had a blast doing the twist, the mashed potato, and the hand jive! Here are Logan and Jordan showing off their awesome outfits. Thanks for participating! I hope you had as much fun as me!

Wimpy Kid 6!

2011-05-05T09:49:00.000-07:00

Did you hear that there is going to be a Wimpy Kid 6? Mrs. Fournier read last night on the internet (check out the article here) that the new Wimpy Kid should come out next school year, and might involve Greg and his family getting stuck in their house when it snows a lot! I wonder how Greg and his brother will get along being stuck inside!

Raffle Winners for Book Fair Carnival!

2011-05-04T15:38:00.000-07:00

The Class Preview Winners for today were:
Mackenzie in Mrs. Talley's class!
Joshua in Mrs. Rataj's class!

The Library Blog raffle winner was:
Sebastian in Ms. Ellis' class!

If you didn't win today, tune in tomorrow and Friday on Broadcast for another chance to win another $10 gift certificate to the Book Fair Carnival!

PS Mrs. Fournier found a Random Number Generator to get a winner! Thanks to Math Goodies for the help!

Book Fair Carnival Family Event!

2011-05-04T14:18:00.000-07:00

The Book Fair Carnival Family Event last night was a blast! We had lots of fun Carnival acts including Madame Zora the Fortune Teller (Mrs. Perkins), Mrs. Talley the Amazing Acrobat, Soccer Tricks with Ms. Moore, the World Famous Face Painting Troupe (Mrs. Doolittle, Dr. Stallworth, Ms. Sayaovong, Mrs. Nixon, and Mrs. Peyton), the Stupendous Wandering Jugglers (Ms. Potral, Mrs. Hermansen and Ms. Mhatey), Mrs. Mills who can guess your weight and age or will give you a prize, Sohlin's lovely-lashed mom and grandma making awesome balloon animals (thanks Kimra!) Templeton and Rachel Albin as the dog&human singing&dancing act, and free popcorn from our lovely PTA moms Mrs. James, Mrs. Katzman and Mrs. McNair.

Thanks to all who helped- especially Mrs. Bibb, Mr. Fournier and Carolyn for helping out behind the cash register! I think the kids had an awesome time and it really helped build community. We also raised some money for the Forest North Library to buy new books, and in this time of budget crisis, it was greatly appreciated.

Thanks to everyone!

Love,
Mrs. Fournier
Ringmaster & Librarian

Book Fair Carnival: 5/3-5/6

2011-04-27T13:46:00.000-07:00

Step right up to the Book Fair Carnival! Come one, come all! The Book Fair Carnival is your ticket to read! The Book Fair is seeking volunteers to help! All volunteers will get entered into an giveaway drawing for book gift certificates! All profits from the book fair will directly go towards buying your student new books for the library to encourage their reading skills, love of reading and love of libraries! Volunteers are welcome to bring their babies, toddlers, school-age children, teenagers, retired parents and neighbors, and/or anyone else that would be able to help!

Please come help Mrs. Fournier run the Book Fair!
Mon 5/2 1-4pm (strong arms and tall people very encouraged!)
Tues 5/3 8am-8pm (Family Event from 4-8. Teachers here showing their Carnival-style talents like juggling, singing dogs and acrobatics! Come volunteer after work!)
Wedn 5/4 8am-3pm
Thur 5/5 8am-3pm
Fri 5/6 8am-7pm (break down from 4-7pm. come help out after work!)

To be entered into a separate online drawing for a $10 gift certificate at the Book Fair Carnival, leave a comment with your child's first name only, their teacher's last name, and their favorite book! The winning student who had a parent leave a comment on this post will be announced live on the morning announcements Thursday, 5/5!

Earth Day Recycled Art Contest Winners and Party!

2011-04-22T09:19:00.000-07:00

Our Earth Day Recycled Art Contest was a blast! We had even more entries than last year. Ten winners were chosen and got donated gift bags with lots of cool stuff from Home Depot. Congratulations to our winners - Mackenzie, Isabella, Catelyn, Zinai, Shelby, Natalie, Raven, Nicholas, Sebastian and Ryan!

Earth Day Book Swap!

2011-04-21T13:13:00.000-07:00

The Earth Day Book Swap was a giant success! An overwhelming majority of students participated in the Earth Day "Renew, Reuse, Recycle!" Book Swap! Students brought gently used books that were too easy for them, or didn't want to reread, and swapped them for a brand new book to take home and keep! It was a win win. Mrs. Fournier is so happy with how it turned out, and hopes to celebrate Earth Day the same way next year. Happy Reading!

Book Swap

2011-04-06T09:01:00.000-07:00

The Art Department and the Library have joined forces to co-host an Earth Day Festival! There are two fun activities happening- you can choose to participate in one or both!

Want to refresh your home library? Bring gently used books between Monday, April 18and Thursday, April 21st. On Thursday, students can come back to shop- bring one book, take one book. Bring 5 books, take 5 books! This is a great way to show our students we can reduce, re-use and recycle.

There will also be a gallery walk happening in the library that day. This is the 2nd annual Forest North Recycled Art Contest. Bring art made of objects found at home that incorporates reusing and recycling!

Below you will find a flyer with all of the information for both projects. Feel free to print a copy to use as your registration for the Art contest. Each art project will need to have the bottom portion attached to the project so that we know who wins and who to return the projects to. All participants win a prize, and 10 lucky winners will be selected to come celebrate in the library with a special prize pak full of earth-loving goodies!

See you there, Eagles and can't wait to see all of your creative art projects!

Audrey and Stephanie teach!

2011-04-02T10:12:00.000-07:00

Audrey Bibb and Stephanie Ro are future teachers! They wrote a few summaries of Junie B. Jones books. Mrs. Fournier noticed that the kids in Ms. Moran's first grade class were really loving Junie B. Jones books, and had an idea. She asked Audrey and Stephanie to continue writing summaries, and to make them super exciting to get Ms. Moran's class interested in reading lots of books. Audrey and Stephanie got to work! They wrote and typed all their summaries, then emailed them to Mrs. Fournier. Ms. Moran was happy to host Audrey and Stephanie. Here they are showing the excited first graders all about their favorite protagonist- Junie B. Jones! Way to go, girls. We love your hard work and your love of reading. Thanks for sharing it with younger Forest North Eagles!

Library Mailmen

2011-03-07T08:24:00.000-08:00

I'd like to introduce Ethan and Joseph. Ethan has been my mailman since he was in Kindergarten, for over a year now. Joseph is my other mailman that started a few months ago. They are neighbors and classmates, but also co-mailmen for the library. This means that they are experts in lots of various systems we have. They take my outgoing mail every day down to the office, sort it by interoffice mail and literal postal service mail, and put it in the correct spots. They, then get my new mail (and I have 3 mailboxes!), bring it back down, and sort it. They sort returned interlibrary loan books, do lots of deliveries for me all school for new students' ID cards, books that students have put on hold, receipts, permission slips, and all kinds of other deliveries. They make copies, punch holes in new badges and attach lanyards, sort returned books for me on the bookcarts, and shelve big books, all in about 10 minutes a day. They're quick and quiet and always responsible. The library wouldn't be a success without them! Thanks for all you do, mailmen!

Weston writes his favorite author!

2011-02-03T14:35:00.000-08:00

Weston, a 1st grader here at Forest North, has had a special connection to his favorite author since the beginning of Kindergarten. That author is named Scott E. Sutton and he writes a series of books about a hierarchy of mythological creatures.

Weston and Mrs. Fournier got Scott E. Sutton's address and spent weeks drafting a letter to write him. During the weeks when the letter was drafted, Mrs. Fournier happen to notice that Scott Sutton was going to be a featured author at the Texas Book Festival here in Austin. Weston and his mom went and met Scott E. Sutton!

In his letter, Weston told Mr. Sutton a little about himself, why he liked his books the best, and gave lots of great details. He even reminded Scott E. Sutton that they met at the Book Festival, and asked if he remembered him. The letter took a bunch of hard work, and as Weston licked the envelope and Mrs. Fournier put on the stamp, they really hoped that they'd get a reply.

Within a few weeks, their wish came true! Weston got a letter mailed to him here at school, and inside was a letter from Scott E. Sutton! It was a great day. Weston shared the reply with his entire class and Mrs. Fournier got it on tape. Weston read the entire letter aloud by himself! What great reading and writing we have going on at school!

Niah's Concrete Poetry

2011-01-28T14:28:00.000-08:00

Niah, a 5th grader here at Forest North, has been hard at work! She got inspired after a library lesson on concrete poems. We watched a few videos, and Niah made her own concrete poems. One is about fish, and one is about hamburgers. They were a hilarious, detailed step-by-step how you cook fish or construct a hamburger. We matted and framed them up in the library! Stop by to see them, for as long as Niah can be parted from them, and check out these videos to see what inspired Niah:

2010-2011 Forest North Bluebonnet Voting Results!

2011-01-23T10:30:00.000-08:00

Ladies and Gentleman, I am pleased to announce the Forest North Texas Bluebonnet Award winners!

I will post the statewide official winners as soon as I hear!

1st place: 2nd place:
3rd place:

Texas Bluebonnet Book Award Voting Party!

2011-01-22T13:44:00.000-08:00

Forest North is proud to announce we had 85 qualified Bluebonnet Voters this year! That's up from 37 last year, and 7 the year before. Let's go Bluebonnet books!

Our 85 kids were treated (by 12 lovely volunteers, both staff and parents) to a Nintendo Wii party! Kids came in, got a free snack, poster and book. They voted for their favorite book of the year (winners to be announced soon!) and all took turns playing a variety of games on nine simultaneous Nintendo Wiis! It was amazing!

Thanks to all of our smart Eagles for working so hard! More later on the winning book and our 10 dedicated students who read all 20 of the Bluebonnet nominees!

New Books! Get Your New Books Here!

2011-01-21T10:16:00.000-08:00

Mrs. Fournier has been hard at work figuring out ways to get more money for books! In addition to the money the district allocates per student every year, Mrs. Fournier also won a couple of awards!

At the end of every year, each library has to inventory all of the books. Scanning over 12,000 books is no easy task, and it's especially hard when you think about all the books that might go missing or get damaged. She has to hunt all those down (and might throw a popsicle party or two to get the ball rolling). She also has to find all the books that are missing or overdue. Then, she has to really think about whether or not there's room for every book. Since we only have room for so many books, and we're always buying new ones, some have to go. Librarians have to find out how good a book is for kids, whether kids will like it, whether it's clean, and how often it's checked out. All of that information goes into whether or not Mrs. Fournier continues to let it be on the shelf. Books that we don't use anymore are donated to Libraries of Love, which helps build libraries in Africa. It's founder is a librarian right here in Round Rock ISD!

Mrs. Young was an immeasurable help in doing all of this last year. Mrs. Fournier and Mrs. Young used teamwork to get it done! They did such a good job, and had so few missing books, and took out the right books (called "weeding,"), they won an award! Forest North got $4000 extra to spend on books this year! Hooray!

Mrs. Fournier also served on a special committee for the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award in the past year. Almost every day, she would gets boxes of new books that wanted to win the award. She's allowed to do whatever she wants with all the books and she's donating them to the Forest North library! Dozens of them are already cataloged and in the collection! Woohoo!

All of this adds up to over 1,000 extra new books for Forest North this year alone! Hooray for reading!

Unusual Reading Spot Photo Contest

2011-01-12T09:21:00.000-08:00

The Statue of Liberty. The candy aisle. A sculpture garden. The Liberty Bell. The neighborhood pool. A ski slope, a creekside view, the doctor's office, a cowboy ranch, or a rainy backyard- what do all of these places have in common? They're an unusual spot to read! Here are our awesome winners for the 2010-2011 Unusual Reading Spot Photo Contest! We had entries from Orlando to New York, with many famous landmarks and interesting poses! Check out our 10 winners. Their photos will be blown up to 11' by 14' and displayed in the library. Come to the library to check out our other awesome participants' photos too- it was so hard to choose just 10!

2011 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award announced!

2011-01-10T14:48:00.000-08:00

After one year, three trips, and about a million books, Mrs. Fournier and her fellow committee members were proud to announce their winner for the 2011 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award! As follows are our winner and our two runner ups. The 2011 Geisel Award goes to Bink and Gollie! Our honor books were Ling and Ting and We Are in a Book! Check out the fancy press release Mrs. Fournier helped to write here! (She and Linda wrote the one for Bink and Gollie!)
Multiple copies are available of each for checkout at the Forest North Library!

2010-12-10T16:40:00.000-08:00

Mrs. Rosenbaum, Mrs. Perkins and Mrs. Fournier were on the news! Check out their local KXAN story from today about raising money for Forest North students via donorschoose.org grants! Copy and paste the following link to watch the story yourself:

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/education/Teachers-seek-online-donations?ref=scroller&categoryId=10001&status=true

2010-12-08T13:35:00.000-08:00

Riley the Reading Dog was a smashing success. We all had a great time sharing books with Riley and petting him. He had a great temperament and loved the attention. His owner Naomi said she'd be happy to bring him back one day. Big thanks to the Austin Pet Alliance for sharing their time and resources with us. We love Riley!

Pictured: Levi, Travonna, Bailey and Valerie pet Riley the Reading Dog!

12/7: Riley the Reading Dog!

2010-12-04T06:58:00.000-08:00

Come see Riley the Reading Dog here at the Forest North Library on Tuesday, 12/7!

Bluebonnet Voting Party 1/21

2010-12-02T10:37:00.000-08:00

Dan Yaccarino

2010-11-30T06:31:00.000-08:00

Mrs. Fournier was kindly invited by some of her fellow librarians last night as they took to dinner the esteemed author and illustrator and Bluebonnet Book Award Nominee Dan Yaccarino of The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau! It was so interesting to hear him talk all about the hard work it's taken him to become an author and illustrator, and to ask him about his cool graphic, retro illustrative style we all love. He also told Mrs. Fournier what he's working on now and what he has plans to do in the future. Mrs. Fournier was so excited to meet him, she asked if he'd pose for a photo so she could show all of her dedicated Bluebonnet nominee readers! He was happy to do so for all of his awesome fans at Forest North! Keep reading, Eagles.

Unusual Reading Spot Contest

2010-11-18T10:14:00.000-08:00

The FNE Library is excited to announce the Special Reading Spot Contest!

Is your family traveling somewhere special for Thanksgiving or Winter Break? Grab your digital camera, a favorite book, and capture a special reading spot or pose to enter.
Students might be found reading in a refrigerator, near an important landmark, in a basketball hoop, or any place their imagination takes them. In the photos, students should be visibly reading a favorite book (see examples below). The 10 most creative pictures will win, and these photos will be enlarged for display in the library and shared on the morning news. All participants will receive an award, even if the image is not chosen for display in the library.

Contest rules:
*The school-wide contest runs from NOW until Tuesday, January 11, 2011.
*Participating students must turn in a 4 x 6 or 5 x 7 photo print of their entry along with a participation form. Note: Use the highest resolution your camera will allow. Participation forms are available in the library on this blog!
*Entries will be voted on by staff and the ten winners will then need to provide a digital version of their image so that we can enlarge it for display in the library. Email digital copies to Mrs. Fournier!
*Please note that camera-phone photos do not have a high enough resolution to print in an enlarged size.

Happy Reading!
-Mrs. Fournier

Bluebonnet Pictograph Bulletin Board

2010-11-17T15:11:00.000-08:00

40 Qualified Bluebonnet Voters!

2010-11-17T10:16:00.001-08:00

Would you believe that last year we had 37 kids qualify to vote for the Texas Bluebonnet Book Award?

This year, it's only November and we already have 40!

In related news, Mrs. Fournier is looking for six people willing to lend their Nintendo Wii for the Bluebonnet Voting Party! Call or email her ASAP!

Birthday Book Club!

2010-10-18T08:02:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Fournier is proud to announce her first year of the Forest North Birthday Book Club. On the month of your student's birthday, look in their folder for a flyer for this program. Parents can fill out the form and send a $15 check or cash. Students can choose their book from a shelf of brand new books Mrs. Fournier has decorated in her office. Students then get a special bookplate dedicating the book to them, they get an extra checkout to take it home and read it first, and a photo of them and the book is aired on morning announcements. What a special way to honor your child's birthday, and it's a gift that will benefit 300 more children as well!

103 Bluebonnet Quizzes already taken!

2010-10-13T15:18:00.001-07:00

The Bluebonnet Book Award Program is underway! This year, students who read five books or more get their picture taken to air on the morning news! That same picture will be framed on our QUALIFIED BLUEBONNET VOTER bulletin board outside the library, and also will be used in the class pictograph that charts our success- teachers have that 10 or more students come to the Bluebonnet Party get a free lunch from Mrs. Fournier! These same students who read 5 or more books nominated for the award get to come to the hippest, happening party of the year- Mrs. Fournier's Bluebonent Book Award Voting Party! At the voting party, we'll have a snack, get a free book and a free poster, play Bluebonnet Bingo and vote! We even will have Nintendo Wiis to play.

Students who read 10 or more nominated books get a $5 gift certificate to the Forest North Spring Book Fair. Students who read 15 or more nominated books get a $7.50 gift certificate to the Forest North Spring Book Fair! Students who read all 20 nominated books get a $10.00 gift certficiate to the Forest North Spring Book Fair AND are qualified to participate in the Battle of the Bluebonnets, a super exciting quiz show competition.

Mrs. Fournier had Bluebonnet Kickoff for all 3rd, 4th and 5th grade classes on September 21st and 22nd. So far, 103 books have already been read! How amazing is that? Last year, 37 voters attended the party- wonder if we can get more this year?

Book Fair Success!

2010-10-13T15:16:00.004-07:00

Dear my wonderful crew of Forest North Library volunteers,

Well, the dust has settled and the numbers have been crunched. We earned a record-breaking $905.04 for the Book Fair this year! We never broke the $900 mark last year, so I am thrilled to achieve that goal. It will all go directly into hiring an author or storyteller to come entertain us later this year. Stay tuned for announcements on who that person will be!

Thanks so much to everyone who helped me put on the Book Fair. It is not a one person job, and I could not have done it without all your help setting up, advertising, holding signs outside in the car line, running the cash register, helping me count the pennies for a 4th time, helping all of our customers choose which color pencil they want, helping find just the right book, making wish lists, and breaking down the library hours faster than I ever have before!

For those of you with more flexible schedules, I am still looking as always for regularly scheduled volunteers. I always have lots of books to reshelve and lots of small projects I need help with, so if you've ever got a free hour, I'd love "drop in" help, or if you have an hour or two you could regularly devote to the library, my readers and I would be eternally grateful for your assistance! It's hard running a library by yourself, but it sure is easier to manage with wonderful parents and community members like you. I couldn't do it without you. I sincerely appreciate your willingness to help me help your students.

Sincerely,
Library Girl
AKA Mrs. Fournier

Book Fair is Happening!

2010-10-05T15:16:00.000-07:00

The Book Fair is going swimmingly! Check out these Book Fair Heroes dressed up for Super Hero Day! These superheroes, disgused day-to-day as mild-mannered teachers, assistant principals and librarians, are letting their true colors shine through today!

Be sure to come check out the Book Fair this week! Profits go directly back to the Forest North Library to buy new books for our school and students!

Library Award!

2010-09-30T15:16:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Fournier won an award! The Round Rock ISD Library Services Department has awarded Mrs. Fournier $4200 towards the purchase of new books for our students! That's about 1 book per student!

How did she earn it? For keeping the collection fresh and weeding out overworn or unused books, for increasing circulation in the library 25% in one year by buying new, exciting books that students want to read!

Mrs. Fournier already has a wishlist that's worth $10,000 of books, so she'll pare it down and place her order soon! Look for these bew books before the semester ends!

Library Grant

2010-09-29T15:15:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Fournier and Ms. Decker co-wrote a grant together earlier this year to buy a Promethean Board for the Library. Promethean Boards are a fun way to learn! Imagine a huge interactive whiteboard that students can use to engage with by using their finger or a stylus to drag and drop pictures, draw, write or spell. The cost of a Promethean Board is $1772.70.

We found out today that we were awarded the full amount from the Round Rock ISD Partners in Education Foundation! This PIE Grant came to award the money to Mrs. Fournier with a big check in the middle of a meeting. Mrs. Fournier gets kind of nervous with surprises, but was still thrilled to receive the money.

Book Fair is next week!

2010-09-28T08:35:00.001-07:00

Our Book Fair is coming next week! Check out our Book Fair homepage for more details!

Library Grant

2010-09-20T17:04:00.001-07:00

Donate to the Forest North Library grant at donorschoose.org!

This Year's Bluebonnet Book Award Nominees!

2010-09-14T06:33:00.000-07:00

Here is an animoto video Mrs. Fournier made to introduce the new Bluebonnet Book Award nominees. She will show it to 3rd-5th graders next Tuesday and Wednesday!

PTA Fundraiser: Lunch with the Librarian

2010-09-11T08:25:00.000-07:00

The Parent Teacher Association here at Forest North has a goal of 100% staff and parent participation this year. Mrs. Fournier already paid her $6 dues and ordered her awesome $13 Forest North t-shirt. The shirt features awesome art by one of our very own students!

Have you joined PTA yet? The money helps to keep us registered as an official PTA organization, and funds all of our awesome activities like Fall Carnival, Field Trips, Field Day and more!

In order to help the PTA, the library has joined forces for a special treat. At every PTA meeting this year, two members will be drawn from a hat. Each of those members gets lunch with the librarian! The student, student's classroom teacher and Mrs. Fournier will work together to make a good time for lunch together, at which time the student will get to choose a free, awesome book to keep forever! How cool is that?

If you haven't already, please join the PTA to support Forest North and to enter your student in our Lunch with the Librarian contest!

See you at the Library, Eagles!

Back to School!

2010-09-11T08:20:00.000-07:00

The year has started off wonderfully. We have lots of excellent readers here at Forest North that I am super excited to show all of our new books to!

Due to staffing limitations, Forest North unfortunately had to destaff the library assistant position over the summer. Due to this, the library needs the help of consistent volunteers more than ever! Thanks to parents who have already stopped by to help cover books, shelve books, straight shelves, work the circulation desk, and helped kids find the books they need in the library! Our students need a well-staffed, well-run library and I couldn't do it without you.

Please help your child remember to take care of his or her library book/s, and to return them promptly. Checkouts are for two weeks, but your student comes to the library at least once a week. Remember as well that parent accounts have unlimited checkouts, so if you'd like to stock up on bedtime stories or great literature for Reading homework, stop by after school or during Library Night to get a stack!

Thanks again for all your support. I'll see you at the library!

Here's How We Did Last Year:

2010-08-31T08:47:00.000-07:00

Click on the image to zoom in on our library profile for last year. Our circulation improved by 33% last year! We also went from 7 to 37 Bluebonnet voting party attendees!

FNE now on Facebook!

2010-08-30T06:03:00.001-07:00

Forest North Elementary is now on Facebook! Please go to our Facebook profile page and click "like" to follow our status updates. We'll keep you posted on upcoming events and other important messages about our school. Thanks so much for supporting your child's school!

I Need My Teachers to Learn

2010-08-12T09:42:00.000-07:00

Hello Eagles! Mrs. Fournier attended the Round Rock ISD Superintendent's Leadershop Retreat a few weeks ago. One of her breakout sessions was on the use of technology for our students to become tech-savvy but also to reach them in the way they think, which is sometimes a little different than the we way we old folk teachers think! Part of our session included this powerful video put together by Robert Autrey. The song he used is a well-known one by Kevin Honeycutt. Enjoy! I hope you're as inspired by it as I was.

Library Impact on Student Achievement

2010-08-11T08:11:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Fournier here, blogging to you live from the Forest North Library. I'm already back in the saddle, Eagles, cataloging new books, designing the Forest North Bluebonnet Book program for this year, getting new technology ready for our classroom teachers, and helping teachers know what the library can do to help you learn! This morning, I gave a presentation to our teachers new to Forest North. They are a very articulate, motivated, beautiful bunch of teachers! Check out my Prezi to see what we plan to work on together this year. Learn more about making fancy presentations at Prezi.com.

It won't be long now. I look forward to seeing everyone's new haircuts, shiny shoes and summer tans!

Library Nights

2010-08-11T08:04:00.000-07:00

Attention Eagles! We have had 5 Bluebonnet Book Award Library nights throughout the summer! Many kids have a huge head start on reading 5 Bluebonnet Book Award nominees. All 3rd-5th graders who read 5 or more books are eligible to vote in the voting party. Last year's voting party had 37 kids come and play "Just Dance" on a Nintendo Wii, Bluebonnet Book Bingo, and received a free book and poster courtesy of Scholastic. We have all Bluebonnet Books available for checkout here at the Forest North Library, but they are also available at any branch of the Austin Public Library or for purchase at any local bookseller with children's literature. For a list of the Bluebonnet Book Award nominees this year, click here.

Summer Library Nights

2010-06-02T12:10:00.000-07:00

The Forest North Library is happy to announce Summer Library Nights! Please come spend every other Tuesday with us from 4:30-6:00. Teachers will be here to play games and hang out with former and future students! Mrs. Fournier will be checking out books, turning on the computers to play games, and reading a Bluebonnet Book Award nominee. 3rd-5th graders can read 5 Bluebonnet Books to attend the Voting Party in January!

For the list of this year Bluebonnet Book Award nominees, click here.

Summer Library Nights will be June 8, June 22, July 13, July 27 and August 10.

Have a great summer, Eagles, and keep reading!

Popsicle Parties

2010-05-26T06:51:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to all the classes who earned Popsicle parties! We only have three days of school left, and only 11 books outstanding in the whole school! Thanks, Forest North!

2010-05-20T11:40:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the last day for Popsicle Parties! So far, we have had great success with responsibility at Forest North. Lots of kids are finding lost books or are paying for lost books so that we can buy a replacement.

The classes that have earned Popsicle Parties so far are: Mrs. Craycroft, Mrs. James, Ms. Moran, Mrs. Meyer, Mrs. Koester, Ms. Guerra and Ms. Herold!

Mrs. Rugerio, Mrs. Perkins, Mrs. Rhea, Ms. Johnson, and Mrs. Rataj's classes each have 1 book left. Hopefully their last book will get turned in tomorrow! They are so close!

Mrs. Albin, Mrs. Talley/Ms. Moore, and Ms. Rosenbaum's classes are close- don't count them out either. Cross your fingers that all Forest North Eagles have a Popsicle party!

Popsicle Parties!

2010-05-01T11:36:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Fournier would like to give your class a Popsicle Party!

FRIDAY, MAY 21st is the deadline for overdue books and bills. Please make sure all of your books are turned in or bills are paid by that date!

If every student in your class has ALL books turned in and ALL bills paid by Friday, May 21st, Mrs. Fournier will throw your class a Popsicle Party during recess!

Please return books or pay to replace them with cash or check. Checks can be made out to “Forest North Elementary.” Please include your phone and driver’s license numbers. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Mrs. Fournier at the library circulation desk at 464-6790.

All You Can Read!

2010-04-27T11:02:00.000-07:00

Forest North is proud to announce our spring Book Fair next week! The theme is "All You Can Read: Book Fair Diner."

Mon 5/3 Wear '50s clothes to celebrate!
Tues 5/4 Preview Day, Book Fair Grand Opening 4:30-6:00 PM
Wed 5/5 Early Release Day, Book Fair open 7:30 AM - 3:30 PM
Thur 5/6 Book Fair open 7:30 AM - 3:30 PM
Fri 5/7 Book Fair open 7:30 AM - 3:30 PM

We are celebrating the book fair on Monday, 5/3, by wearing 1950s-inspired clothes, so dust off your poodle skirts, saddleshoes and Buddy Holly eyeglass frames.

On Tuesday, 5/4, we will have our Preview Day. Each class will come through the Book Fair with a wish list to write down a few items they'd like and their cost. We will remind students to bring a little extra for tax.

Also on Tuesday, 5/4, we will have our Grand Opening Family Night! Families are welcome to attend the Book Fair after the PTA Meeting as part of our Special Areas rotation. See our art gallery, hear some music, meet a robot and buy a book- what could be a better way to spend your evening? We'll see you then from 4:30-6:00 PM.

The Book Fair will be open Wednesday, 5/5 at 8:00. We have an Early Release that day, and parents are welcome to come check out the book fair when they pick up their kids at 12:45. We will be open until 1:30.

On Thursday and Friday, 5/6 and 5/7, the Book Fair will be open from 8:00-3:30. Please feel free to stop by anytime and peruse our selections.

Thanks so much for supporting the Forest North Book Fair! Profits go directly back into a fund to buy books for our school. Our Fall Book Fair raised enough money to have Lucas Miller, the Singing Zoologist visit in February, and for us to have Elizabeth Kahura, African Storyteller at Night of the Eagles in March. Without your support, we wouldn't be able to have exciting events like these at Forest North! Thanks, Eagles!

Earth Day Recycled Art Contest

2010-04-22T11:56:00.000-07:00

Happy Earth Day, Eagles!

Mrs. Lajaunie and Mrs. Fournier love our Earth. We decided to celebrate by having a Recycled Art contest here in the library. Students could put together recycled goods in any artistic combination to submit them to the contest. This open-ended challenge was perfect for our creative students! We were so amazed at the art we received!

All of Forest North Elementary was invited to walk through our gallery of recycled art. Our panel of esteemed judges were astounded at the level of inventiveness and perspective our artists demonstrated.

All 37 of our talented artists won two hypercolor Earth Day pencils that turned from green to yellow when you touched them. Fifteen participants were invited to the library at the end of Earth Day for a party! Mrs. Lajaunie arranged for donations from Home Depot! Home Depot was kind enough to donate kits that could be built into herb garden birdhouses, cool orange aprons, and special pins, too! We had a snack of Sun Chips in special compostable bags, and water from recyclable water bottles. The water bottles were already reused for a project in Mrs. Rugerio's Pre-K class.

Thanks so much for all 37 participants, and congratulations on your wonderful art.

Launch Into Summer surveys

2010-04-21T12:02:00.000-07:00

Our teachers are planning a Parent Learning night to give tips on keeping kids' academic skills sharp during the summer. We'd love input from our parents to let us know what they'd like to learn about. Please take the following survey to give us your two cents!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/L3T3XC5

Thanks for helping us make Forest North a better place where learning goes on in the evenings, too!

Volunteer Tea!

2010-04-20T09:18:00.000-07:00

This Library Night, we focused on thanking our Volunteers! All Forest North parents were sent home a flyer to invite them for a special Volunteer Tea. We had food, friendship and fun gifts! Thanks, volunteers, for all that you do! The event was sponsored by the Special Areas team- Mrs. Lanahan the art teacher, Ms. Potral in PE, Mrs. Hermansen in Music, and myself. Teachers were kind enough to bring a dish to share! Parents received mugs with a variety of tea bags inside.

In the spirit of volunteerism, my special librarian thanks go out to all the book shelvers and rubber stampers! I couldn't do it without you- your help enables me to better serve your children and I am so grateful for that. Volunteerism is a special trait that speaks louder than words. There is no greater gift than your time. Thank you so much!

(photo: Brenda Speck, volunteer. Lisa Perkins, Kindergarten teacher. Annie Muir, volunteer)

Mrs. James' class loves to write!

2010-04-19T11:20:00.000-07:00

Mrs. James class read a special book last week that they checked out from the library called Max's Words. Youngest brother Max doesn't collect stamps or coins like his brothers- he collects words like "slithered" or "pancakes." One word leads to another until he has a whole story to tell!

Mrs. James' class was so inspired by Max's collection of words, they found their own interesting words in magazines, cut them out, and made complete sentences with them. Check out some of their masterpieces!

2010-04-16T07:22:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Fournier is attending the Texas Library Association Annual Conference this week in San Antonio. She is learning about new books and new ideas to keep our library rockin' and rollin'!

One panel Mrs. Fournier really liked was on books and censorship. One author who spoke on the panel was Jude Watson of the 39 Clues series! Mrs. Fournier knows we have a bunch of 39 Clues fans here at Forest North, so she asked Jude (her real name is Judy!) for a picture!

See you next week, Eagles- I miss you!

The library is the heart of the school!

2010-04-13T12:46:00.000-07:00

April is National School Library Month. In April, we are celebrating the library a different way every day! Today, we wanted to prove the library is the heart of the school. Every student was given a red heart to write why they love the library, and we posted them outside our doors.

Thanks so much for all the wonderful reasons you love the library, Forest North. It was such a special day and made Mrs. Young and I feel special too. We love our jobs! <3

2010-03-24T07:41:00.000-07:00

Here's Natalie, Kindergarten student, showing off her Dr. Seuss spirit with Mrs. Fournier. We had such a great time on Dr. Seuss' Birthday, we decided to continue the celebration yesterday at Future Eagle Library Night!

Yesterday was our first Future Eagle Library Night. Future Forest North students were invited to attend our monthly Library Night to have a Dr. Seuss story time, do some Seuss-y crafts, eat a snack, use PebbleGo on the computer to learn about animals, and check out books. These Eagles are going to be in our August Kindergarten class and were already reading in our library bathtub, using shelf markers and sitting perfectly in the story pit while we learned about rhyming words! This is great experience before school starts to make friends, meet staff and familiarize themselves with our campus.

We read The Cat in the Hat and then afterwards, the kids had three craft choices. They made a variety of Cat in the Hat placemats, Grinch masks, and reading door hangers. Current and future eagles also checked out books to take home and share.

Nicol Media, the Parent Support Specialist, and I cordially invite all current and future Eagles to attend every Library Night! Parents will learn about other upcoming events at school and have access to our special collection of books on parenting. Students will have fun learning, creating and socializing. Our next event is on April 20th, and Library Nights will continue through the summer as well.

Night of the Eagles

2010-03-09T21:29:00.000-08:00

March 9th was a very special day here at Forest North Elementary. We celebrated Night of the Eagles, where we soar away with reading and community.

To celebrate the event, we all wore our pajamas to school. There were lots of cute slippers and PJs!

After our PTA meeting, students rotated between four rooms of reading. Ms. Jacobs delighted us with Spoon, Mrs. Decker told us of The Hair of Zoe Fleefenbacher Goes to School, Mrs. Hermansen directed us to The Way Back Home, and Ms. Potral read Police Cloud. Good thing they have lots of practice and are great readers, because they were a success. Their audiences loved it!

After the books were all read, we all met in the cafeteria and had some milk and cookies! Elizabeth Kahura was on the scene to deliver tales of Africa. We sang songs in Swahili and danced to beautiful music. Elizabeth also told us a beautiful tale of a soaring Eagle and why being an Eagle is being a success! It was a fun night for all. Thanks to all who made it out!

Dr. Seuss' Birthday

2010-03-03T18:29:00.000-08:00

March 3rd is Read Across America, a holiday celebrating reading! It also happens to coincide with Theodor Suess Geisel's birthday!

Dr. Seuss is a special favorite of Mrs. Fournier because she is currently serving on the Geisel Book Award Committee, choosing the best book for newly independent readers published in 2010.

To celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday and Read Across America, we had a Seuss-a-thon here in the library. Readers from our school volunteered to keep Dr. Suess going all day long. Readers included Mrs. Lajaunie from the office, Ms. Barbara the lunch monitor, Principal Jacobs, Assistant Principal Decker, and Ms. Potral from P.E. We had a blast reading to each class.

Mrs. Rhea, Mrs. Fournier and Mrs. Meyer pretended to be Thing #1, the Cat in the Hat and Thing #2.

To make the celebration extra special, we encouraged students and faculty to dress up in their Suessiest gear with stripes, polka dots and any other related items.

Mrs. Fournier and Mrs. Perkins, the star-bellied sneech!

We had a great time reading and loving books together. For more information about Read Aross America, check out http://www.nea.org/readacross.

Battle of the Bluebonnets!

2010-03-01T07:30:00.000-08:00

RRISD elementary schools were invited to participate in the annual Battle of the Bluebonnets in Leander ISD! This was Round Rock's first time participating and we were so excited!

I needed a team! It was an easy choice- I went to the kids who read the most Bluebonnet books this year. Preethi, Zack, Wyatt, and Shelby had read all 20 books! Lindsay had read 16- she served as our alternate but got to particpate in the Battle as well.

Ms. Herold was kind enough to have t-shirts made for us!

After the dust had cleared, and our participants' brains were fried, and over fifty questions had been answered- we tied for 7th place! We only got 6 questions wrong!

Lucas Miller show was a blast!

2010-02-04T12:37:00.001-08:00

We all had a great time at Lucas Miller's concerts today! If you'd like to order his DVD or either of his books, please feel free to order through next Wednesday, 2/10. His website is http://lucasmiller.net/, and if you just scroll down, you will see a link to download an order form. We can also print out another order form for you here at the library, too. Just let us know!

Thanks for a rockin' time, Eagles, and Happy 100th Day of School!

Lucas Miller show tomorrow!

2010-02-03T12:14:00.000-08:00

Mrs. Fournier is going to take a break from blogging today. Kylie, a Kindergarten student, is going to tell you exactly what you need to know!

Reading Rally!

2010-02-02T15:38:00.000-08:00

Thanks so much for your participation in the Reading Rally.

So far, we've received 55 completed postcard books which we will send out soon to family and friends of Forest North students, inviting them to subscribe to a magazine and help the Library raise money.

We also received 19 magazine subscription orders so far! This is a great way to raise money for the library.

I already have a list of books our students have requested to order and hope to buy them all with the money raised during our Reading Rally! Thanks so much for supporting your child through the Forest North Library.

2010-01-28T12:33:00.000-08:00

The library is pleased to host a rock concert!

Lucas Miller the Singing Zoologist is on tour! He has a gig here at Forest North on Thursday, 2/4! Order forms will go home Monday to pre-order books and DVDs. Lucas has generously offered to autograph books and CDs between shows!

Check out his website at http://www.lucasmiller.net/ to get information on his books and CDs. Keep rocking, Eagles!

Bluebonnet Voting Party!

2010-01-22T17:00:00.000-08:00

We had a whopping 37 kids read 5 or more Bluebonnet Book Award nominees! Out of these 20 books, if you read 5 or more, you are qualified to vote for the best book of the year. Forest North made an event of it! All qualified voters were invited to a soiree in the library with bingo, free posters, free books, and the Nintendo Wii! They also got a sneak preview for next year's Bluebonnet Book nominees!

Congratulations to all of my 37 voters! After the votes were tallied, it was a tie. Our two winners were Surprises According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney and The Gollywhopper Games by Jody Feldman.

Reading Rally!

2010-01-22T11:19:00.000-08:00

The Forest North Library is holding our annual Reading Rally! Great American Opportunities has generously offered to have a magazine drive with us- they will give half of their profits to the Library. Students took home postcard booklets last Thursday. All students who brought back at least 7 postcards ready to be mailed received a rubber ducky! Rubber duck fever has swept the school!

Mackenzie, Kindergarten student, brought back her postcard book and received a rubber duck of her very own. She was so happy, she wrote a book called My Lucky Duck all about it. In it, she fills out the postcards, brings it in, and gets to choose a rubber duck from the box with her friends. I look on as they choose their rubber duck. There are 24 different ones, so it's quite the process to choose that special one! Here is an illustration from Mackenzie's book:

Cover Illustration by Travis

2010-01-15T09:59:00.000-08:00

Here at the library, we sometimes have books that get old and worn out after a while. We send them away to be re-bound so that they can still be read by more students, but when they get re-bound, we lose the beautiful cover art.

A book without cover art is a sad thing! It usually doesn't get checked out very much by our younger readers.

Travis had a great idea. He drew his own illustrations for Richard Scarry's Busy, Busy World. He used the inside of the book for inspiration and designed a beautiful new cover.

Feel free to stop by anytime and check out Travis' beautiful new cover!

Bluebonnet Book Reviews

2010-01-12T09:52:00.000-08:00

Two very special students, Kara and Andy, have submitted special book talks for your viewing. They have written reviews for two Bluebonnet Book Award nominees. Kara reviewed Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School and Other Scary Things, and Andy reviewed The Hound of Rowan. They then set out turning their book review into a real script, and set up a set to film their reviews. They trained on how to use a Flip Video Camera to record and edit each other's reviews. Here are their finished products:

Please feel free to come check out Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School and Other Scary Things or The Hound of Rowan anytime here at your friendly Forest North Elementary Library!

Library Night!

2009-12-15T12:29:00.001-08:00

It's the 3rd Tuesday again... you know what that means! Tonight is Library Night. The library will be open for special hours today for our students and their families. We'll see you at 4:30!

We are also having the second installment of our Parenting Series Tonight. Pizza will be served at 5:30 in the cafeteria, followed by the Literacy@Home lecture here in the library. I will be giving a presentation on how to make the library work for your student at home. I will distribute flyers with usernames and passwords to all who attend in order to access our wonderful databases and subscription websites at home! There will also be special breaking news from my six ace reporters- Mackenzie, Quimara, Andy, Daniel, Angili and Nick!

See you at 4:30, Eagles!

Sylvan Dell eBooks free online!

2009-12-03T09:53:00.000-08:00

Hello, Forest North Eagles! I'm here to tell you about another great resource we have available for our students to use at school and home.

Sylvan Dell Publishing is now producing an online reading program with 45 eBooks, each with selectable English and Spanish text and audio. The books are fun, fictional stories involving animals and nature and with spectacular art, but there is a lot more. The back of each book has a 3-5 page educational section called For Creative Minds that you can explore with your child.

Also, each title has its own homepage loaded with 30-40 pages of cross-curricular teaching activities and three interactive quizzes and it is all free online. We think you’ll find this program an interesting integration of fun reading with the option of serious science, math, geography and language learning. It is all online, so with broadband access from home or the library you can make this a family reading and learning event.

Because our school has this eBook site license, you and your family have complete access to this resource from your home computer and we encourage you to enjoy it with your children. A flyer was sent home this week with instructions on how to access this resource at home. Call the library at 464-6790 if you need help, or attend any Library Night for a flyer with the passwords for all of our wonderful resources! I will also be discussing these resources at length on our Literacy at Home Parenting Series on 12/15 from 5:30-6:30. Pizza will be served in the cafeteria at 5:00 pm.

TeachingBooks.net

2009-12-01T13:07:00.000-08:00

Have you heard of TeachingBooks.net? All Round Rock schools subscribe to receive this awesome book resource. Get reading guides, author interviews, and reading lists to inspire your students and children to read! You can access the site at school, but also from home or at the public library. Contact the Forest North library or Kristen Fournier, librarian, for the remote access login username and password. Happy reading!

Thanksgiving Holidays

2009-11-23T07:22:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving holidays begin Wednesday and go through the rest of the week. I hope everyone has a wonderful break with lots of things for which to be grateful! Along those lines, I'd like to thank my fabulous library volunteers for all they do to help their students' library run smoothly!

Thank you, D'Anna Youngman, Brenda Speck, Hamid Velji, and Alison Seerley! I couldn't do it without your help!

Library Night - Science Research!

2009-11-18T06:32:00.001-08:00

Last night was another monthly Library night. This time we focused on science experiment books for students and books on positive discipline for parents. We also featured BookFlix on our library computers!

BookFlix is a website we subscribe to where kids can see a short movie version of a book, paired with a similiar nonfiction text that can be read aloud as they turn the pages. You can even check out BookFlix at home! Look in your child's folder this week for a BookFlix instruction sheet with the Forest North username and password, and happy reading!

We hope to see you at our next Library night- it's 12/15, 4:30-6:00. Come check out books, math or science kits and check out some of our educational subscription websites! I hope to see you there. There will also be pizza served at 5:30 before the next Parent Education Series, also taking place in the library.

Math and Science Books and Kits!

2009-11-06T07:28:00.000-08:00

Help your child succeed!

Forest North is proud to announce our new collection of science books and kits and math kits specifically for parents to help their children. Explore our solar system, experiment with force and motion, or learn zany animal facts together. It’s a great way to be involved in your child’s education and will familiarize you with our curriculum.

Our science Activity kits include vocabulary cards, ideas for experiments, and all the supplies needed for the experiments. They also include fun stuff like rubber stamps, stopwatches, balloons, magnifying glasses and electric circuits! Here are the kits we have available:

Animals
Electricity
Force & Motion
Insects
Matter
Plants
Properties of Earth
Rocks & Soil
Solar System
Weather

These books and activity kits can be checked out and taken home. We have special library accounts just for parents, so come by to set one up! The library is open to parents before school on Tuesdays and Thursdays or at our monthly Library night (next one is 11/17 4:30-6:00). Parents can check out anything from our regular collection as well as from our special parenting section. Our parenting section includes books on being a parent and helping your child become a successful, contributing member of our community both socially and academically. Help your son or daughter succeed through the library today!

Economics Fair!

2009-10-30T15:45:00.000-07:00

Friday, October 30th, was the 3rd grade's economic fair. Third graders have been learning about different parts of an economy- goods and services, spending and saving money, supply and demand, and how pricing and selling affects profits.

To show off their new knowledge, they hosted an economics sale, selling entirely handmade goods and services. They generously donated all of their profits to the Make a Wish Foundation.

I was lucky enough to buy a pet rock from Desiree for $.25 and a bookmark from Aaron for $.50. My pet rock (named Desiree, of course) is now happily living on the library circulation desk, and my bookmark is trustily keeping my place in my book!

Red Ribbon Week for Healthy Lifestyles

2009-10-29T12:42:00.000-07:00

This is Red Ribbon Week here at Forest North. Every day we are showing off our healthy lifestyle and our choice to not do drugs! We are also collecting canned goods to donate to an area food bank to prove "I can... you can.. we can have a healthy lifestyle!"
On Monday, we wore red to show we are "Reddy to Live a Healthy Lifestyle." Tuesday was "Hats off to a Healthy Lifestyle"... I saw sombreros, baseball caps, toboggans, fedoras and berets! Wednesday, we wore our shirts backwards to "Turn Your Back on an Unhealthy Lifestyle."
Today, Thursday, we decided to "Sock it to a healthy lifestyle!" We are wearing wacky, silly, odd socks to celebrate our choice to not do drugs! Here are some of the wacky socks that were spotted in the library:

Pictured: Abby in 3rd, Ariel in 2nd, Mrs. Benson, Erbey in 2nd, Ms. Lajaunie, Ashlyn in 2nd, Mrs. Decker, Stephanie in 2nd, Mrs. Fournier, Shelby in 4th, Mrs. Young and Mrs. Mills

Spirit Night at Double Dave's!

2009-10-26T12:45:00.000-07:00

Tonight is Spirit Night at Forest North Elementary! Meet us from 5:30-8:00 at Double Dave's Pizzaworks, located at 183 and Anderson Mill (13343 Highway 183 North). Double Dave's has generously offered to donate back a percentage of their profit earned tonight back to Forest North. Come support our school in a fun way- through pizza! See you tonight, Eagles.

Library Nights!

2009-10-22T12:25:00.000-07:00

Hello, Forest North Eagles! It was lovely to see you at the October Library Night, and especially to welcome our new principal, Ms. Jacobs, to our school with a cake and punch reception!

I wanted to invite you to come to each monthly Library Night. We will have books for students, of course, but I'd also like to highlight our wonderful section of parenting books. Forest North has been focusing on this section to help our students succeed at home and at school!

The Library will be open from 4:30 to 6:00 pm the 3rd Tuesday of every month.
Those dates are as follows:

November 17th
December 15th
January 19th
Feburary 16th
March 23rd (this one is delayed a week for Spring Break- have fun!)
April 20th
May 18th

I look forward to seeing all of you on November 17th for an extra special time to checkout books with parents!

Forest North Welcomes Ms. Jacobs!

2009-10-21T11:15:00.000-07:00

Forest North Elementary is very excited to have our new principal, Ms. Amy Jacobs. The library hosted a reception to welcome her on Tuesday, October, 20th. Besides checking out books, we also had cake and punch!

Forest North is Exemplary!

2009-10-19T12:51:00.000-07:00

Congratulations, Eagles! Forest North has been recognized as an "Exemplary School" for this year! Many of the Forest North staff attended a district celebration to note the achivements of our faculty and students.

Pictured: Kristen Fournier, Librarian. Carolyn Potral, student. Kathy Potral, PE Teacher.

Fall 2009 Book Fair!

2009-10-01T11:20:00.000-07:00

The Forest North Book Fair will take place October 5th-9th during regular school hours. We will have a special Book Fair night on Monday, October 5th from 5:30-6:30 pm. Come out and support our school and library. We'll see you then!

Kristen Fournier, new librarian

2009-08-03T14:24:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I am the new librarian at Forest North Elementary. My name is Kristen Fournier. This is my first year as a librarian and I'm so excited to be here! I've been teaching the past three years in Austin ISD while earning my Masters in Information Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. I also worked for two years at the Austin Public Library in Youth Services, as well. I live in Austin with my husband and our two dogs, Cricket and Grover. I look forward to meeting all of you!

Forest North Library Blog

Coins for Coats

Online Book Fair through 10/21

The Book Fair!

Library Book Fair!

Bluebonnets available on Thursday!

10 Reasons to Read to Your Child

welcome back to school

Camp Bluebonnet 2011- Thursday

Camp Bluebonnet 2011 - Wednesday

Camp Bluebonnet 2011 - Tuesday

Camp Bluebonnet 2011 - Monday

American Library Assocation 2011 Annual Conference

New Awesome Books!

Camp Bluebonnet!

Mrs. Fournier serving on Armadillo Committee!

Wink wins Armadillo Readers Choice Award!

Summer Reading

Forest North Library's Student Volunteers

Popsicle Update!

Only 23 students have books left!

Armadillo Readers Choice Sock Hops

Wimpy Kid 6!

Raffle Winners for Book Fair Carnival!

Book Fair Carnival Family Event!

Book Fair Carnival: 5/3-5/6

Earth Day Recycled Art Contest Winners and Party!

Earth Day Book Swap!

Book Swap

Audrey and Stephanie teach!

Library Mailmen

Weston writes his favorite author!

Niah's Concrete Poetry

2010-2011 Forest North Bluebonnet Voting Results!

Texas Bluebonnet Book Award Voting Party!

New Books! Get Your New Books Here!

Unusual Reading Spot Photo Contest

2011 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award announced!

12/7: Riley the Reading Dog!

Bluebonnet Voting Party 1/21

Dan Yaccarino

Unusual Reading Spot Contest

Bluebonnet Pictograph Bulletin Board

40 Qualified Bluebonnet Voters!

Birthday Book Club!

103 Bluebonnet Quizzes already taken!

Book Fair Success!

Book Fair is Happening!

Library Award!

Library Grant

Book Fair is next week!

Library Grant

This Year's Bluebonnet Book Award Nominees!

PTA Fundraiser: Lunch with the Librarian

Back to School!

Here's How We Did Last Year:

FNE now on Facebook!

I Need My Teachers to Learn

Library Impact on Student Achievement

Library Nights

Top 10 Books Read at Forest North 2009-2010

Summer Library Nights

Popsicle Parties

Popsicle Parties!

All You Can Read!

Earth Day Recycled Art Contest

Launch Into Summer surveys

Volunteer Tea!

Mrs. James' class loves to write!

The library is the heart of the school!

Night of the Eagles

Dr. Seuss' Birthday

Battle of the Bluebonnets!

Lucas Miller show was a blast!

Lucas Miller show tomorrow!

Reading Rally!

Bluebonnet Voting Party!

Reading Rally!

Cover Illustration by Travis

Bluebonnet Book Reviews