April in the i-ZONE

Panther Cubs in the i-Zone

The early primary students have been participating in a variety of learning experiences each week in the i-Zone.  These activities promote a deeper understanding of the story and allow students to make personal connections as they respond to stories they have heard read aloud.  This month we continued to focus on books that included repetitive phrases so that the students can join in on the reading of the story. Students have had a chance to build using Lego, Plus Plus pieces and magnetic construction sets.  Our panther cubs have also been introduced to coding!

National Scribble Day

March 27th was National Scribble Day.  The students identified and discussed feelings by observing facial expressions and the created their own scribble character!

We also learned that- ‘Great art starts with a SCRIBBLE!’

Come and check out the display we worked together to created in the front hallway at PVPS.

The Forest of Reading®

Our primary students have now heard almost all ten books in the Blue Spruce program. In the next few weeks they will be participating in a game show activity to review these books and will then have a chance to vote for their favourite Blue Spruce book!  The results of the vote will be shared with the Ontario Library Association to ensure that the voices (roars) of our PVPS panthers are heard and counted. The students have participated enthusiastically in this program and enjoyed listening to a variety of books written by Canadian publishers, authors and illustrators.   

During the past few weeks students have learned about sharks in a book called “I Love Sharks Too”,  They then used their Google Apps for Education (GAFE) account to create a slideshow to share their learning using images and text.  And in our MakerSpace these students also created some sparkly glasses like Charlie in “I Love My Purse”. We will be sure to share the results from our school vote in next months newsletter.

SCDSB Read Aloud

Some of our junior and intermediate classes at Portage View began participating in the SCDSB Read Aloud when they returned from March Break..  The students in these classes are reading one of two books: “Innocent Heroes” by Sigmund Brouwer or “Hawk” by Jennifer Dance. To learn more about the book “Hawk” check out the book trailer:: Hawk Classes then have an option of making a connection with another class in Simcoe County or they may choose to read the book and connect through Twitter @SCDSBreadaloud or the SCDSB Read Aloud Blog. to share their thoughts and ideas about these books.  

A big thank you to author Sigmund Brouwer for providing the students reading “Innocent Heroes” with a video introduction to his book. Here is the link to the video shared by this author: Sigmund Brouwer's Introduction

Tech Talk

The computer carts and ipads continue to be in high demand this month both in the library and in our classrooms.  

Mr. Szczokin’s Grade 8 students are using a combination of apps (“app smashing”) to create a message to share about our planet for the April assembly.  

Our Google Apps for Education (GAFE) accounts are being used in a variety a ways.  Many of our primary students are able to log into their own Google Drive accounts and are beginning to use many of the apps  available to them such as drawings, docs, and slides. As a Teacher-librarian it is exciting to see our young panthers using this tool to access and share their learning!

Mme Lamoureaux’s class has been working with an app called Lego Movie Maker.  They are using stop motion animation to create videos to tell a twisted fairy tale that they have written.  Storyboards were used to plan and guide these students through the process.

Mr. Szczokin’s grade 7 rotary students have been using green screen technology to create videos to create a documentary about a natural resource and to answer student inquiry questions related to this topic.

Mme East and Mme Lanoe’s classes will be exploring coding programs such as Scratch and working with tech such as Microbits and Makey Makey.  Stay tuned for more information about this learning.

Don’t forget to follow the i-Zone on Twitter @pawspvpstoread

Global Read Aloud- One Book to Connect the World

Primary Classes
The primary students in Mrs. Damignani’s, Mrs. Filippelli’s and Mrs. Young’s classes have been participating in the Global Read Aloud. They have been reading picture books written by and illustrated by Monique Gray Smith and Julie Flett. Many of the books we have been reading together include Cree words in the text. We have been fortunate that another school has shared audio recordings with us so that we can hear these Cree words pronounced accurately. 
The grade 1 students collected photographs of our school community and shared these pictures using Google Slides. It has been exciting having students from other schools look at our photos and add photos of their own. This collaboration has helped our students learn more about how others live. 
The grade 2 students created a video to share thoughts and ideas about what they like to do with their grandparents. We will share this video and invite students from around the world to comment on our media production. 
We still have 2 weeks to go and are hoping we have further opportunities to connect with other classes participating in this program. 

Intermediate Classes
Several of our intermediate classes are reading Refugee written by Alan Gratz. This book is about three young refugees escaping their homeland in the hope of finding a new place to call home. Mme Watter’s class participated in a Mystery Hangout with a grade 7 class in Ohio. Students were assigned roles such as Think Tank, Questioners, Greeters, and Map Markers to effectively determine the location of the school we were connecting with. In the end it was a clue on a student’s sweatshirt that assisted us in identifying the state, city and school of our virtual visitors. We are hoping to connect with this class again to discuss and share thoughts and ideas about the book using a Padlet.

Welcome to the I-Zone (re-branding our library at PVPS)

Library Orientation

The I-Zone at Portage View is up and running and as busy as ever! Students have been visiting with their classes to review the organization and routines in the library.
Primary students heard a story called, “We Don’t Eat Our Classmates” written by Ryan T. Higgins. This humorous story is about a t-rex on her first day of school and teaches students how to make friends with humans.
Our junior and intermediate students have also had weekly opportunities to visit the I-Zone. They have selected books, explored some of our makerspace materials (watercolor pencils, Keva Blocks, puzzles), played Mancala and some have used iPads also.
Kindergarten students will be visiting this week and will have the opportunity to listen to a book by Ian Schoenherr called, “Read It, Don’t Eat It!” which talks about how to share and care for our library books.

International Dot Day

Lots and lots of dots filled our school yard on September 18. There were dot shirts, dots in hair, dots on hats, dots everywhere! Our primary students listened to the story “The Dot”, written by Peter Reynolds and then participated in a variety of activities that allowed them to celebrate, collaborate, and create with DOTS! Some of the activities were a dot hunt, dot Twister, creating dot hats, painting dots and so much more. 

Global Read Aloud- One Book to Connect the World 

This week several classes will begin reading books as a part of the Global Read Aloud. Two of our primary classes will be participating in a study of picture books including “My Heart Fills with Happiness”, “You Hold Me Up” and “When We Were Alone”.
Some of our junior division classes will be reading “A Boy Called Bat” written by Elana Arnold or “Amal Unbound” by Aisha Saeed.

Finally, our intermediate classes are invited to read Refugee by Alan Gratz. Take a look at the trailer below for this awesome book. Participating classes have the opportunity to make connections with classes from somewhere else in the world to meet and discuss the books they are reading. The official start date for the Global Read Aloud is October 1. I look forward to seeing what connections our panthers will make over the next 6 weeks!

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Happy New Year from the Library

Happy New Year from the library!!

Each new year, resolutions are made and new initiatives begin. Finding additional time to read is always at the top of my list. Here is a short video suggesting some best practises for parents when reading with your kids: Nightly Reading with your Kids

Wow… we certainly have had a busy month of learning in the library. Below are just a few of the highlights from the month.

Hour of Code
Several of our classes participated in the Hour of Code. The Hour of Code is a event established to introduce computer programming to students all over the world. When this newsletter went to press 166,726,959 people around the world had tried coding!! Interested in finding out more about coding check out http://code.org/

Volunteers 
A big thank you to all of the volunteers who assist each day in the library. Thank you to Mrs. Desormeaux, Mrs. Harris, Mrs. Cooke, Mrs. Breton and Mrs. Groves for their help each week. They are invaluable to the operation of the library.

Book Care 
“Oh the weather outside is frightful, And our books are so delightful…”
Just a reminder that this winter months can be very wet and that books become damaged when they come in contact with moisture so please remind your child to keep our library books protected when they are transporting them to and from school.
                                         
Christmas Cards
Mrs. Young and Mr. Grano’s classes together with Mrs. Filippelli’s students created and then hand delivered holiday cards to Whispering Pines Retirement home during the last week of school. On our return one of our intermediate students said, ”I felt good to give back to our community and we made so many of the resident’s day- they were happy and smiling. It was a good warm feeling!”

Many special events are already planned for January.  A few of these events include participating in the reading of Blue Spruce books with our primary students, Red Maple Book Club for the intermediates and some of our junior classes will be exploring "All About Me"- a visual portfolio that 
                                         allows students to discover their strengths, interests, and to set goals.
   

It's Been a STEAMy November!

Wow- it's already December and it has been another busy month in our library.

STEAM Challenges 
STEAM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math. STEAM activities provide students with opportunities to take risks, experiment, problem solve, and to collaborate with others. During the past month many of our primary students used this approach to learning as they solved problems and tackled presented challenges. 
The grade one and two students designed and created Roller Racers that included wheels and axles that could move without the use of their hands. Although all of the students had access to the same materials, many of the projects that were created were original and inventive. 
Mrs. Young and Mr. Grano’s students were challenged to create an invention to rescue pumpkins from a flooded pumpkin patch using only the following materials: Q-tips, stir sticks, popsicle sticks, straws, pipe cleaners, and clothes pins. 
Tech at School 
Each week a group of intermediate students writes scripts, films, edits and produces the Panther News and then on Friday shares it with the staff and students at Portage View. The news includes a recap of events that have taken place during the week, sports updates, interviews with staff and students as well as promoting upcoming events. These students use a variety of technology to create this weekly newscast including an iographer kit, mic, and a variety of apps such as Do Ink for Green Screen and iMovie. 
The computer carts, Chromebooks and iPads continue to be in high demand and used throughout the school in a variety of learning situations. 
Hour of Code 
Many of our students will participate in the Hour of Code that takes place during Computer Science Education Week from December 4-10. This worldwide event provides our students with the opportunity to become creators as well as consumers and to gain a better understanding of the programs and apps that they use daily. The Hour of Code is a global movement reaching tens of millions of students in 180+ countries. Currently there are over 2,646 registered events in Canada. The following are a few apps that provide students with the opportunity to code and learn more about computer science: Kodable, Scratch Jr. and Tynker. Click on this link to learn more about the Hour of Code 
Scholastic Book Fair 
Our book fair was a great success. Thank you to the parents, grandparents, students and staff for your support. Over 100 new books will be added to our library! 
Simcoe County Read Aloud 
It has been six awesome weeks of reading one of two books together with many other schools in our board. Seventy-five classes followed Sophie on her “90 Days of Different” adventures and 175 classes decided to #ChooseKind and read the book “Wonder”. As a culminating activity to the book Wonder, all students in the junior division will have the opportunity to view the movie at the Galaxy Theatre in Barrie on Friday, December 8th. To watch the trailer for the movie click on this link: WONDER trailer. The movie is based on the book written by R.J. Palacio and emphasizes choosing kindness. 

Keep Calm and Read On

Global Read Aloud

The primary students in Mrs. Damignani’s class, Ms Edwards and Mrs. Valks’ class and Mr. vonAlthen’s class have been participating in the Global Read Aloud- reading books by Australian author Mem Fox.  They have collaboratively created a video sharing research information they obtained about some of the Australian animals that Mem Fox included in the books we have read.  The grade 2 students searched for images of the animal they chose to study, saved the image to the camera roll on an iPad, scanned QR codes, and recorded their learning using an app called Chatterpix Kids.  

We still have 3 weeks to go and are hoping we have an opportunity to connect with another class participating in this program.  

     

Simcoe County Read Aloud- Reading is better together

Our entire junior division is participating in the Simcoe County Read Aloud.  

These students have been reading the book “Wonder” by R.J. Palocia.  If you are interested in finding out more about this amazing book follow this link to watch the trailer for the book- Wonder trailer.

This book has been made into a movie and we are hoping to take our students to see this movie, as a culminating task, when it hits theatres in November!     

PVPS Book Hospital

As the wet and soon to be snowy weather approaches please assist your child in protecting our library books. Books that have come in contact with any type of liquid can not go back onto our library shelves and unfortunately need to be replaced.  We encourage students to transport books to and from school in a plastic bag placed inside their backpacks.  Also, from time to time accidents happen with our library books both at home and at school.  If a page is accidentally torn please do not attempt to fix this at home but rather have your child return the book to school with the page marked.  It is important that proper repair materials are used to fix our library books if they are to last and be available for our students.  Thank you for your cooperation with this situation.

September in the Library

Library Orientation

Our library at Portage View is up and running and as busy as ever!

Students have visited with their classes to review the organization and routines in the library.  Kindergarten students listened to a book by Amanda Haan called “I Call My Hand Gentle” and talked about how to share and care for our library books.  Primary students heard the story “No David” written by David Shannon and then used stick puppets to help David decide what he should and shouldn't do with our books. The grade three students used our iPads to take photos on a scavenger hunt

and then used the Pic Collage app to create a media work to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding.  Our junior students participated in “Library Jeopardy” answering questions on topics such as: All About Libraries Everywhere, Library Organization, Technology and Miscellaneous topics.  Finally, our intermediate students participated in the “Amazing Library Race” moving around the library to solve tasks and hoping not to get SPEED BUMPED by another group before they reached the end.

SCDSB Read Aloud

Several of our junior and intermediate classes will begin participating in the SCDSB Read  Aloud. Click on the link to read more about this reading initiative happening right here in Simcoe County.  

Students in the Junior division will be reading “Wonder” by R. J. Palacio.  This link will take you to the publishers trailer for this book.  This book deals with bullying, empathy and kindness- a great novel for the start of the school year.  

Our intermediate students will be reading” 90 Days of Different” written by Eric Walters.  Mr. Walters has supported the Simcoe County Read Aloud for the past few years and has offered once again to discuss his novel and participate in a Q & A with the students at the end of this initiative.

Global Read Aloud

Two of our primary classes will be participating in the Global Read Aloud beginning on October 2nd. The grade 2 students will be reading 6 books written by Mem Fox.  They will have the opportunity to make a connection with a class from somewhere else in the world to meet and discuss the six books they will be reading.  The official start date for the Global Read Aloud is October 2.

Indigo Adopt a School Program

Portage View was selected to be a part of the Indigo Adopt a School Program. There are three ways that our community can support our school.  To begin go to: https://adoptaschool.indigo.ca/ and then we would appreciate you helping in one or more of these three ways:

1. Book​ ​Bonus​: For every two books you donate to our school online, the Love of Reading Foundation will donate a bonus book, up to 100 books!  

2. Tell​ ​a​ ​Story,​ ​Give​ ​a​ ​Story​. Every time you post a story to our Adopt a School profile, the Love of Reading Foundation will donate one book in support of our school library, up to 20 books!

3. Adopt​ ​a​ ​School​ ​Story​ ​Contest​: “Heart” your favorite story to help a school for a chance to win* big! The five most-loved stories in each province will be entered into a random draw for a chance to win a $2,500 Indigo eGiftcard to purchase books for their adopted school. The remaining four top “hearted” schools in each province will win a $500 Indigo eGiftcard to purchase books! Choose wisely because you only get one shot to “Heart” a story!  This means we need to “Heart” the story on our website that currently has the most hearts but all posted stories help our school so please share those stories!

**This event ends on ​October​ ​8​th so please login and share your reading story.**

To find out more about the activities, connections and learning taking place in our library follow us on Twitter @pawspvpstoread.