PK's Literacy Celebration begins on Friday, March 1! This is the start of the read-a-thon as well as many other fun literacy events.

Reading logs will be distributed to every student in his or her classroom, and reading logs can also be downloaded and printed out from this website (see just below this post).

Students record every minute read from March 1 to March 15. Reading logs can be turned in starting March 15, and must be turned in no later than March 22 (no exceptions, no reading logs will be accepted after March 22). Let's see how many minutes we can read! Every student who turns in a reading log by the deadline will receive a reward: an Islands restaurant gift certificate. Okay, Dragons, get ready to read!

All grades at Pennekamp are hearing the nominees for the California Young Reader Medal during February. All students will have a chance to vote during their class library visit time at the end of February or early in March. If you'd like to see the specific titles we're reading, visit the Weekly Readalouds page of this site. Students in grades 4 and 5 have a chance to vote on the chapter books nominated for the CYRM. The nominees in that category are Crenshaw, by Katherine Applegate; Fish in a Tree, by Linda Mullaly Hunt; and The War that Saved My Life, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. Any 4th- or 5th-grade student who reads all three will be invited to a voting "pizza party" in March. 

Many students are also reading in preparation for the upcoming Super Literacy Quiz Bowl games. There's a lot of information about the SLQB right here on this website. The registration forms are now available and are due by February 15. The SLQB is part of Pennekamp's annual Literacy Event, which this year is from March 1 to 15.

For our younger Dragons, I'm pleased to announce a new Literacy Event activity: Night at the Library, which will be on March 6, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Parents and students in TK, K, 1st, and 2nd grade are invited to come in their PJs to Pennekamp's library after dark. We'll hear and read picture books and do a variety of fun things. Please note, each child needs to have a parent with her or him--this is not a drop-off event.

The Rotary Readers from the Manhattan Beach Rotary Club will be reading to our students during the week of February 25, 2019. The students always enjoy meeting these service-minded community members and hearing about their love of reading.

The book club for 5th grade is in full swing. Our current selection seems to be a big hit with the students: A Night Divided, by Jennifer A. Nielsen. Rain has affected our meeting schedule a bit, so the next meeting is February 27 at lunch/recess in the  library.