A B C - About Book Clubs at GRACE

Carol Gehringer
Media Center

At GRACE, we love to encourage our students to read. 

A few years ago, we started book clubs in 4th-6th grade. Last year (2014-15), we added book clubs in our 3rd grade, bringing our total to 8 book clubs on the Raleigh campus.

They continue to grow -- in 2013-14, we had 65 students participate, but last year, 2014-15, we had 105 students meeting together to discuss a book we read.

Here's a reminder of how our GRACE book clubs work:

FACILITATORS: Mrs. Walker: 3rd grade & Mrs. Gehringer: 4th-6th grade

HOW OFTEN? Book clubs meet approximately twice a month, with girls one week and boys the following week.

• A schedule will be posted in Talon for the 4th-6th grade book clubs, and Mrs. Walker will notify the 3rd graders of their meeting schedule.

WHEN?  During car pool, 2:45pm-3:15pm. We meet until 3:15pm. Then the students will be dismissed to the lobby or to aftercare.

• MONDAY - 3rd grade              TUESDAY - 4th grade 
• WEDNESDAY - 6th grade       THURSDAY - 5th grade

WHERE?  In the Raleigh library, of course!

WHY BOOK CLUB?

• Good way to encourage reading
• Good way to socialize with others in your grade
• Amount of reading done is decided by the book club
• Book club meets only 1-2 times per month and during car pool, so it doesn't interfere with lunch or after school activities
• No grades! But it might help you in reaching your AR goals (more about this later!)

WHAT DO I NEED TO DO NOW?  

• Talk with your student about it!
• Tell us if your student wants to participate in book club.
• Ordering a book club t-shirt (optional)? Get the money and size information in by next week.

OTHER QUESTIONS?

• Do I need to buy the books?  No - we have multiple copies already purchased specifically for our book clubs. However, if your child loses the book, you will need to pay for its replacement.
• Do I need to read the first book before the first meeting? No, we will hand out the books at our first meeting.
• Do I need to read every book? No, but we will encourage you to read at least the first chapter to try different genres!
• How will this help with my AR goal? All the books we read have Accelerated Reader (AR) quizzes. Students take a multiple choice quiz to test their comprehension of the books they read. Since there is a competition for prizes, they will want to read more books and pass as many AR quizzes as possible. Mrs. Lane, our reading specialist, will be sending out more information on AR in the coming weeks.

Any other questions? Contact me (cgehringer@GRACEChristian.net).

SAVE THE DATE! Fall Book Fair - Oct. 6-13, 2015

Carol Gehringer
Media Center

Mark your calendars for our annual 2015 FALL BOOK FAIR held on our TK-6 campus.

Tues. Oct. 6th through Tues. Oct. 13th (2015)

GRACE gets a percentage of the sales which we will use in the Raleigh library (TK-6). You can purchase books for teachers' classrooms, as well as books and activities for your children.

The book fair will be open during the school day in the Raleigh Library. Extended book fair hours will be posted later in September.

Students will preview the book fair early in the week to create a wishlist to share with their parents and grandparents.

Immediately after the Grandparents Day program on Friday, October 9th, the book fair will be in the RALEIGH GYM. 

VOLUNTEERS needed to help - please contact Mrs. Gehringer (cgehringer@gracechristian.net, 919-783-6618) if you can help. We especially need volunteers on Thurs. Oct. 8th (evening) to help move the book fair from the Raleigh library into the gym.

Watch for more details in a few weeks!

Databases #1: Britannica School & ImageQuest

Carol Gehringer
Media Center

Britannica School is an award-winning online resource with differentiated, reliable information for students in Kindergarten-12th grade.

 Students can move up or down a reading level as needed, using one of the three portals -- Elementary, Middle School, and High School -- to access information via a tablet, laptop, iPad, or other Internet-enabled device.

ImageQuest is a companion resource from Encyclopedia Britannica -- and an award-winning image database for students in Kindergarten-12th grade.

With almost THREE million rights-cleared images, it is an excellent resource for students' homework assignments.

Access to high-quality images on all topics, free of advertising, and from trustworthy sources, in one location makes ImageQuest a valuable resource for schools.

For more information, see Britannica School (school.eb.com) and ImageQuest  (quest.eb.com).

For password and login information, visit your GRACE library!  

Welcome Back Eagles!  I am Mrs. Hartsfield and I am so excited to be teaching at GRACE this year.  I have a lot of fun and exciting things planned this year in the technology classes and I can't wait to get to know all of my students.

3rd-Keyboarding
This quarter we will be getting acquainted with the Chrome books.  We will learn the parts of the Chrome book, how to log in, and simple trouble shooting techniques.  Also, our 3rd grade students will have the opportunity to learn responsibility. They have to assemble themselves in an orderly fashion to retrieve and return the Chrome books.  They are learning proper typing technique and how to effectively use the Home Row keys.  We are on our way to building competent 21st century skills!

4th/5th - Technology/Media
 This quarter Mrs. Gehringer and I will be working together in the 4th and 5th grade classes.  We will be collaborating with classroom teachers and integrating technology with their lessons.  We will start the quarter with Mac basics, Web Browsers, and Pages.

6th-Multimedia
 This quarter we will start with Photo Booth and iPhoto to create our first project "All About Me".  We will also explore the digital camera parts and use and upload pictures to iPhoto to create another project.

Online Databases for GRACE Christian School

Carol Gehringer
Media Center

Now that school has started, it is a good time to remind you of the MANY online resources we have available at GRACE Christian School for our students to use.

I will highlight these databases in separate posts over the coming months, as I introduce them to our students.

• Encyclopedia Britannica 
• ImageQuest (Encyclopedia Britannica)
• PebbleGo
• PebbleGoNext
• FactCite
• CultureGrams
• Country Reports
• PK Science Suite: Life Science, Physical Science, Earth/Space Science

As always, for password and login instructions, contact the GRACE Library.

Spanish Enrichment

This year's birthdays will be celebrated with "un sombrero pequeño".  ¡Feliz Cumpleaños amiga!

Welcome Back!

The GRACE enrichment teachers are excited to welcome you back for the 2015-16 school year!

This blog is the place where we will keep you updated with information about upcoming events as well as what your students have been working on in their TK-5 enrichment and 6th grade elective classes.  Please bookmark this blog and check back often!