Ms. Barbara's Pennekamp Library Website (2010-2021)
  • Home
  • Current/News
    • Creative Fun at Home
    • Author Visits / Book Orders
    • Super Literacy Quiz Bowl (SLQB)
  • Weekly Readalouds
  • Resources
    • PK Library Catalog
    • County of LA Public Library catalog
    • County of LA Public Library databases
    • World Book Online
    • California K-12 Digital Resources
    • Britannica School
    • MBUSD Tech Resources
    • ProQuest CultureGrams
    • ProQuest SIRS Discoverer
    • Social Studies Fact Cards
    • TeachingBooks.net
  • Reading Lists
    • MBUSD Summer Reading Lists
    • ALA Youth Media Awards
    • California Young Reader Medal
    • Other Reading List Links
    • County of Los Angeles Public Library
    • Redondo Beach Public Library
  • Contests
    • Super Literacy Quiz Bowl (SLQB)
    • California Young Reader Medal
    • County of Los Angeles Public Library bookmark contest
  • Book Club

May 5, 2014

5/6/2014

0 Comments

 
The annual announcement on May 1 of the winners of the California Young Reader Medal is always exciting! The statewide winner in the Primary category is Press Here, by Herve Tullet; the statewide winner in the Picture Book for Older Readers category is Queen of the Falls, by Chris Van Allsburg. Neither of these won at Pennekamp, though! We preferred instead Interrupting Chicken, by David Ezra Stein, for the Primary category; and The Worst of Friends: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and the True Story of an American Feud, by Suzanne Tripp Jurmain, for the Picture Books for Older Readers category. 

In honor of the actual awarding on May 1 of the CYRM statewide prizes, I am revisiting previous CYRM winners this week in class readalouds. Classes in grade 4 are finishing When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead (which incidentally is a different kind of award-winner, as it won the Newbery Medal in 2010). Grade 5 is finishing Schooled, by Gordon Korman, or hearing The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore along with viewing the short film on which it is based, which won the Academy Award for short animation in 2011. So we have awards all around this week!

For the first time this year Pennekamp participated in the competition for the Cook Prize, awarded by the Bank Street College of Education in New York, based on votes cast by students around the world (not just in America!). The winner of this prize was recently announced, too: it is The Boy Who Loved Math: The Improbable Life of Paul Erdos, by Deborah Heiligman, which also won at Pennekamp's, with voting in just our grade 3 classes. I hope to expand Pennekamp's participation in this contest next year to grades 2, 3, and 4.

As I announced last week, the 2014 summer reading lists are now available! The lists for students entering grade 6 and above present reading requirements; the three lists for elementary students (entering grades 1 and 2; entering grade 3; entering grades 4 and 5) are nonrequired reading possibilities! If your child is casting around for something to read, the summer reading lists are full of a variety of fun and interesting suggestions, but elementary students do not have an assigned summer reading requirement. The five MBUSD elementary library media specialists collaborated to create all three lists.

Looking ahead, the library will be closed during the week of Memorial Day as I have an out-of-town family event to attend. Unfortunately this means that the library will not be open during Open House--I will miss seeing everyone's families! The last book club meeting will be Monday, June 2. The last week of class visits will be the week of June 9. The last day to check out books from the library will be Friday, June 6, which means all books will be due no later than June 13 (also the very last day of class visits). Please note that a hold will be placed on a student's report card if he or she has any unreturned library books; likewise parents must also return all library materials by or before June 13 to avoid a hold being placed on their student's report card. Please contact me if there are any questions or concerns about library circulation.
0 Comments

March 31, 2014

4/1/2014

0 Comments

 
Our focus shifts this week to books about nature, animals, and springtime. Specific titles can be found on the Weekly Readalouds page of this website, but a few books merit mention here. First grade is hearing a new, very beautiful nonfiction book: See What a Seal Can Do, by Chris Butterworth. We'll take a look at some specific aspects of nonfiction books, such as front matter and back matter, the use of captions and distinctive fonts, and of course illustrations, which in this book are spectacular. Third grade is hearing The Eagles Are Back, by Jean Craighead George, the celebrated writer of books about animals and nature, including Julie of the Wolves and My Side of the Mountain. George died in 2012; this eagle book (published in 2013) was one of her last. 

The fifth-grade book club met Monday, March 31. We discussed A Tale Dark and Grimm, by Adam Gidwitz. This book provides so much entertainment and meaning, I am impressed with it time and time again. There are two other related books by Gidwitz that follow the first one--In a Glass Grimmly and The Grimm Conclusion, both of which are on my  list of books I plan to read this summer. The book club’s next selection is Three Times Lucky, by Sheila Turnage. Copies are available at the Manhattan Beach Public Library “bookmobile.”

With grades 4 and 5, we are almost done with our novels! I am hoping to finish with all classes of both grades by the end of April.

I received an interesting link regarding the Cook Prize--the nonfiction book contest that third grade participated in this year. Turns out the contest involves schools and libraries around the world! Here is the link to the Cook Prize 2014 map. This is a contest we will certainly do again next year--the nominees this year were all very interesting.

Happy April break, everyone! I look forward to reading a lot, in search of the best books for the summer 2014 lists of recommended pleasure reading. You might want to take one last peek at last year's lists before they are replaced with the new ones.
0 Comments

June 4 to 8, 2012

6/9/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture

The past week was the last week of regular class visits to the library. Books are no longer being checked out this year, and most are being returned right on schedule. There is never an overdue fine at the library, but any student with unresolved library issues on the last day of class will have a hold place on his or her report card pending resolution. Please contact the library if you have any questions about your student's, or your own, library account.

Yesterday I enjoyed having lunch with two 3rd-grade students, Lauren and Lindsey. Lauren won my "lunch in the library" event at the teacher raffle and invited her friend Lindsey to join us. The girls were delightful companions! I hope they had as good a time as I did!

Wednesday night I was honored at the board meeting of the Manhattan Beach Unified School District as classified employee of the year at Pennekamp. My sincere thanks go out to Pennekamp's students, families, teachers, staff, and to Principal Mabry for being so supportive of my efforts. 

Also this past week I had the pleasure of introducing the new digital collection at Manhattan Beach Middle School (MBMS) to current 5th graders. Did you know that e-books can be checked out just like "regular" books? Well, they can, and like all library materials, they are free of charge. MBMS has just introduced 96 e-book titles, and MBUSD students moving up to 6th grade at MBMS are encouraged to check out these titles during the summer. Browse it by clicking on MBMS Digital Library.

The Pennekamp library is closed during the summer, so please visit the public library. Our local Manhattan Beach branch has an exciting summer reading program lined up, with entertaining events as well as various forms of recognition for participating readers. It's going to be a lot of fun, so be sure to sign up soon!

0 Comments

May 29 to June 2, 2012

5/29/2012

0 Comments

 
Thanks to the many families who visited the library at Open House! It was wonderful to see familiar faces and to make new friends!

Class visits this week are focused on the summer reading list titles for students in grades K through 4. These lists consist of optional, nonrequired choices for pleasure reading. If your child wants to read something else, that's just fine! I am encouraging students to get public library cards, as the Pennekamp library is closed during the summer. For grade 5, only Mrs. Curry's class is visiting the library this week because the other two classes will be on a field trip on their library day. Mrs. Curry's class will hear a book about Harriet Tubman, to support the Harriet Tubman play that grade 5 attends next week. DK will hear books about travel and home. 

Book club for 5th grade meets this Friday, June 1, in the library at lunch recess. This is our last meeting of the year.

Here again are the end-of-year dates as announced last week:

Classes will visit the library as usual through the week that ends on June 8.

The last day to check out books will be June 1. Please return all books as soon as possible, but certainly by June 8. A student will not receive his or her report card if he or she has outstanding library issues, and that includes books owed by the student's parent.

If you need to pay for a lost book, please pay with a check made out to MBUSD. Cash is also acceptable, but please make payment in exact change.

The library will be closed all day on Thursday, June 14, for shelf-reading.
0 Comments

April 23 to 27, 2012

4/22/2012

0 Comments

 
Pennekamp celebrates Earth Day this week, so all classes will be hearing books related to environmental awareness. Many of these are new in library: Planting the Wild Garden, by Kathryn Galbraith; Blackout, by John Rocco; A Place for Birds, by Melissa Sweet; Sparrow Girl, by Sara Pennypacker; and Can We Save the Tiger? by Martin Jenkins have all been recently added to the library's collection.

Scholastic flyers go home this week in the Tuesday envelope. This is the last opportunity to order from Scholastic until school resumes in the fall. Orders will be due by May 4, and you will receive your merchandise on or before May 21.

Both book clubs have chosen new books: the book club for 4th grade is reading Redwall, by Brian Jacques, a fantastic if somewhat long book, which we will discuss at the meeting on May 25. The book club for 5th grade is reading Wonder, by R. J. Palacio, a new book that I really admire, to be discussed at our meeting on June 1. The upcoming meetings will be the last book club meetings of this school year. 

The district summer reading lists for students entering grades 1 to 5 are revised every year by the district library media specialists. Lists for summer 2012 have just been posted. These lists are made up of books for pleasure reading--they are not required, nor do they represent an assignment or an expectation. If your sons or daughters want to read something else, please do not let the summer reading lists hamper their enthusiasm for books of their own choosing. If, on the other hand, you or your child is scouting around for something to read, please do consider the district summer reading lists. Students entering grade 6 and above ARE expected to read from their grade-specific summer reading list, so please consult those lists closely, as they do represent an assignment for students entering grade 6 or above. 
0 Comments
    Barbara Siegemund-Broka, library resource specialist, maintains this blog to inform Pennekamp students and families about library news and related content. Any opinions expressed here are solely her own. 

    What's Ms. Barbara reading?

    Picture
    How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy, by Jenny Odell
    ​
    Worth repeating:

    His eyes are soft. “Do you know why I became a librarian?”
       I wait for him to tell me, because of course I don’t.
       “Dewey,” he says. “As in the decimal system.”
       I’m not sure if he’s joking or not, but he continues, “I like order. I like organization. The idea of all the information in the world, all organized, everything in its place—I like that idea.”
       He clears his throat. “But I’ve been doing this job for a long time. And the thing I’ve learned is that stories aren’t about order and organization. They’re about feelings. And the feelings don’t always make sense. See, stories are like …” He pauses, brow furrowing, then nods, satisfied in finding the right comparison: “Water. Like rain. We can hold them tight, but they always slip through our fingers.”
       I try to hide my shock. Joe doesn’t seem like the poetic type.
       His caterpillar eyebrows knit together. “That can be scary. But remember that water gives us life. It connects continents. It connects people. And in quiet moments, when the water’s still, sometimes we can see our own reflection.”
     
    --From When You Trap a Tiger, by Tae Heller, winner of the 2021 Newbery Medal

    Archives

    August 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010

    Categories

    All
    Abraham Lincoln
    Ala Youth Media Awards
    American Revolution
    American West
    Apples
    Asian Pacific Island Heritage Month
    Authors Week
    Baseball
    Bears
    Black History Month
    Book Club
    Book Fair
    Bookmark Contest
    Brain Awareness Week
    Butterflies
    California Gold Rush
    California Statehood
    California Young Reader Medal
    Catalog
    Childrens Dental Health Month
    Chinese New Year
    Civil War
    Class Visits
    Clothing
    Colors
    Common Core Standards
    Cook Prize
    Destiny Quest App
    Dewey Decimal System
    Dinosaurs
    Earth Day
    Endangered Animals
    Fathers Day
    Fire Prevention Week
    Groundhog Day
    Guinea Pigs
    Halloween
    Hanukkah
    Hispanic Heritage Month
    International Dot Day
    Inventors
    Learning To Read
    Lewis & Clark
    Lewis Clark647b236af7
    Libraries
    Literacy Month
    Love Stories
    Manhattan Beach Education Foundation
    Manhattan Beach Historical Society
    Manhattan Beach Rotary Club
    Maps
    Martin Luther King Jr.
    Memorial Day
    Mothers Day
    National Bicycle Month
    National Library Week
    National Poetry Month
    Native Americans
    New Books
    Olympics
    Overdue Books
    Paleontology
    Pennekamp Pride Traits
    Pennekamp Pta
    Pirates
    Poem In Your Pocket Day
    Poem-in-your-pocket Day
    Poetry
    Pta
    Public Library Events
    Random Acts Of Kindness Week
    Roundhouse Aquarium
    Saint Patricks Day
    Saint Patricks Dayf547019d60
    Scholastic Book Clubs
    School
    School Library Month
    Science Night
    Science Week
    Screenfree Week171457ec08
    Seasons
    Sea Stories
    Self-acceptance
    September 11
    Simple Machines
    Snow
    Solar System
    Summer Reading
    Summer Reading List
    Summer Vacation
    Thanksgiving
    Toys
    Trees
    U.N. International Day Of Peace
    U.s. Presidents
    Valentine
    Veterans Day
    Volunteers
    Weather
    Women
    Women's History Month
    Womens History Month
    World Food Day
    World Water Day

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.