Natalie, Abiha, Neeharika, Sebastian & Elizabeth represented us well yesterday at the RRISD Battle of the Bluebonnets, answering 36 our of 39 questions correctly! If you see them, thank them for showing the world what it means to be a Forest North Eagle. They're hardworking, dedicated, and used teamwork to solve many difficult questions. Brian Mays, our emcee for the Battle, is also an anchor on KVUE. He featured the Battle on his show this morning- check it out here! See if you can find the back of Mrs. Fournier's head in the librarian photo. Thanks so much to all the students, parents, librarians & Brian Mays for using our strengths to make a great memory for our students.
Drew Daywalt's book The Day the Crayons Quit, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers (my favorite picture book writer/illustrator!) is a unique book this year in RRISD because it's on this year's lists for both the Texas Bluebonnet Award & the Armadillo Readers Choice Award. To celebrate this special coincidence, Forest North staff is having a special day on campus - a literal Day the Crayons Quit, on November 10th! Students, during their usual Special Areas rotation, will rotate through six special activities brought to you by Instructional Technology Specialist Jeff Brewton, Counselors Jill Peyton & Iben Dyke, Art Teacher Angie Bell, Music Teacher Jeanie Hermansen, Physical Education Teacher Amanda Chadney, and of course, Librarian Kristen Fournier. Through the rotation, they will make digital art, exercise, have a rhythmic dance party, express their feelings, watch a video produced by the illustrator, and play a cool online game called Kahoot! Students are encouraged to dress in their favorite color to celebrate The Day the Crayons Quit (hat, socks, shoes, shirt, pants, or any combination), and we are hard at work making sure every student has a chance to read this book or have it read to them before our celebration. It's a wonderful book filled with so much humor and joy, and we are thrilled to come together to celebrate one book as a community. The sequel, The Day the Crayons Came Back, has just been announced as in pre-production. I can't wait to read it!
2nd graders and 3rd graders were in for a special treat on Monday, October 15th! Texas Bluebonnet Award-nominated author Julie Sternberg was here from Brooklyn, New York to visit us and talk about her amazing debut novel Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie. Students from 4th and 5th grade who had already passed the quiz on her book were also invited. Julie was engaging, and our students were so well-behaved. They sat still, asked great questions, and prepared for the visit ahead of time by reading her book (thanks, teacher!) Thanks for helping me make the most of our visit. Author visits like Julie Sternberg are wonderful experiences for our children, but require a lot of financial help. Since Julie lives so far away, multiple schools pitch in and share her airfare and hotel costs. At Forest North, the PTA generously donates money to the library, and that paid for about 25% of our visit costs this year. The other 75% comes from fundraisers like the Barnes & Noble Book Fair (12/1/2012) and the Scholastic Book Fair (4/30/13-5/4/13). Please support the library fundraisers so we can continue to have authors visit our school!
Some students chose to purchase books and get them signed by Julie in person. I took a photo of each student who purchased a book and printed a wallet sized copy so they could have a souvenir of our special day. Pictured below is Julie Sternberg with Ruby, a third grader. Our books were purchased through local Round Rock bookseller The Book Spot, who were nice enough to let us buy books ahead of time, and took back any extras we didn't sell without financially penalizing us. How nice is that? They also covered the tax for us. Please patronize The Book Spot to thank them for donating their time and services to us! Thanks for a wonderful visit, Julie! The kids and teachers adored you, and we loved getting an inside perspective on your wonderful book. Can't wait for the sequel, coming out in April!
2nd graders and 3rd graders were in for a special treat on Monday, October 15th! Texas Bluebonnet Award-nominated author Julie Sternberg was here from Brooklyn, New York to visit us and talk about her amazing debut novel Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie. Students from 4th and 5th grade who had already passed the quiz on her book were also invited. Julie was engaging, and our students were so well-behaved. They sat still, asked great questions, and prepared for the visit ahead of time by reading her book (thanks, teacher!) Thanks for helping me make the most of our visit.
Thanks for a wonderful visit, Julie! The kids and teachers adored you, and we loved getting an inside perspective on your wonderful book. Can't wait for the sequel, coming out in April!