March 2007
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Grandview Library News Alerts!
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On March 29th I attended a workshop entitled:
The New Media: Old School, New School -
Blogs, Forums, Chats… Who’s writing, who’s reading… How on-line news impacts reporting.
What does this have to do with your children? This is the world in which your children, you, and I are getting our "news".
The quotes around the word "news" are significant. There is a concern that online news media blurs the lines between factual reporting and opinion.
When citizens are invited to leave anonymous comments on news articles, initiate a discussion in a forum, and engage in live chats -- does the line between fact and opinion become skewed by the input of over-zealous participants?
What do you think? Email your thoughts!
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Dear Parents,
Welcome to the March 2007 Grandview Library Newsletter.
It's Monday, April 9th -- only two days remaining for our "spring" break. On Sunday, we made our trek back from snowy Syracuse and walked into a freezing cold house here in Rockland -- I think Syracuse followed us back.
It may be cold outside, but your children keep the library warm with their enthusiasm and energy!
 The Books and Beyond program has gotten off to a great start. Stop by to see the children's markers on the large bulletin board in our main hallway. I will publish a picture of the bulletin board in the Grandview Newspaper sometime this week.
What is a Friend? - Kindergarten
As noted in the February Newsletter, the Kindergarten classes have been listening to stories about friendship. Listen to their podcasts by clicking this link -- What is a good friend?
Kamishibai - 1st & 2nd Grades
The first and second graders are writing their own Kamishibai stories using our Mini-Journal Project Organizer. Some of the children have completed their writing and are illustrating their stories. Within the next week or so, we will make completed stories available in the Grandview Newspaper -- podcasts accompanied by illustrations.
Mrs. C. Presents
Kamishibai Storytelling
at Barnes & Noble
On Sunday, April 22nd at 1:00 pm, I will share Kamishibai Storytelling at Barnes and Noble in Nanuet as a representative of the Grandview Elementary School and the East Ramapo School District. If you use this voucher to purchase a book between April 20th and April 22nd, a portion of the revenue will benefit Grandview. Make sure to write "Grandview Elementary School - East Ramapo" on the back of the Voucher!
Research Projects - 3rd Grade
The 3rd graders are continuing their research projects -- many have completed their thesis statements and have begun taking notes. The final step -- write and podcast a research report. Our Research Project Organizer has been revised in response to student requests for greater flexibility in selecting hardcopy and web-based resources. The order of the organizer sections and some wording were also revised. Such modifications might seem trivial to the casual observer, but work flow and wording make a difference to students as they work through the research process. The goal is to create "a just right challenge" with helpful feedback. We've had mini-lessons on note taking and citing resources using student work to show what is working and what can be improved. You can take a look at some of work-in-progress in our Research Wiki where final reports will be published in the coming weeks.
The New Media: Old School, New School
Read about the workshop I attended on March 29th. The information landscape continues to get more complex and more interesting!
Grant Wrtiing
In collaboration with Mrs. Smith, our principal, I've submitted a grant to acquire additional Smart Boards. Our goal is to have a Smart Board in every Grandview classroom! We'll keep you posted!
Finally, three grants are starting to receive funding through Donor's Choose. Click to learn about the Music and Literacy Grant which has been funded to 89% -- just a bit more to go!
Looking for signs of spring -- let me know if you spot any.
Warmly,
Mrs. Chauncey |
