Dav Pilkey, author of the Captain Underpants series and many other books, is visiting our community. Pennekamp is having an underpants-themed community service drive to collect new, unopened packages of underwear or socks to donate to homeless men, women, and children.
 
Our drive is from Monday, October 1, to Friday, October 12. Our donations will go to The People Concern. The collection bin will be in the PK library.
 
Everyone who donates can enter a raffle for two tickets to Dav Pilkey’s appearance on Tuesday, October 16, in Redondo Beach. The raffle winner will be announced on October 12.
 
Please note: ONLY NEW, UNOPENED PACKAGES OF UNDERWEAR OR SOCKS WILL BE ACCEPTED.
 
Thanks for giving generously to help those in need—and good luck on the raffle!
 

The County of Los Angeles Public Library's annual bookmark contest has begun! Young people are encouraged to design a bookmark based on this year's theme: Shine Bright...READ! Designs will be judged based on originality, creativity, and neatness. One entry is allowed per person, so contestants should take their time and submit their very best work. Submissions are judged based on grade level. Winners will be announced in November 2018, and then grand prize winners will be announced in February/March of 2019. 

The entry form can be printed from the public library's website, or from the PDF below. Paper copies are available at the Pennekamp library.

Turn in your entry at any County of Los Angeles library (such as the Manhattan Beach Public Library) by Saturday, October 13, 2018. If you are having trouble getting to the public library, turn in your entry to the Pennekamp library by Friday, October 12, and Ms. Barbara will take it to the public library by the due date.

Class visits to the library have begun! The schedule of class visits is now final, and almost all classes have library volunteers, so everything is pretty much set for the coming year.

The books I am reading aloud and any other class visit activities will be posted each week on this website, under the Weekly Readalouds tab. 

The Manhattan Beach branch of the County of Los Angeles Public Library has sent out its newsletter of upcoming events. Take a look--there are a lot of great programs for all ages. 

Tickets are now available for Dav Pilkey's appearance at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center on October 16! Tickets include a signed copy of the new Dog Man book, Lord of the Fleas. The event is likely to sell out, so if you are interested, I encourage you to get your tickets right away.

Inspired by Dav Pilkey's visit, Pennekamp will hold a drive for ... underpants! Yes, underpants are amusing, and Dav Pilkey's Captain Underpants books are very amusing, but there's a serious side to underpants: fresh underwear and socks are among the items most needed by homeless men, women, and children. From October 1 to 12, the Pennekamp Library will be collecting new, unopened packages of underwear and socks to be donated to a service provider for homeless people in Los Angeles County. Everyone who donates will be entered in a raffle to win two tickets to Dav Pilkey's appearance on October 16 at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center! The winner will be announced on Friday, October 12. Please donate generously to our drive, and who knows, maybe you'll win the raffle!

Dav Pilkey Author Event—Tuesday, October 16, at 6:00 p.m.
Pages: A Bookstore presents Dav Pilkey, author of the bestselling Captain Underpants and Dog Man series, in an appearance at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center. TICKETS ARE REQUIRED and go on sale September 1 at midnight. For more information contact Pages at 310-318-0900 or https://www.pagesabookstore.com/event/dav-pilkey
 

Welcome back, Dragons! I hope you had a wonderful and restorative summer. This begins my ninth year at Pennekamp, and I think we have a great year ahead!

​The library is a resource for the entire Pennekamp community--students, teachers, staff, administrators, and families. You can visit the library whenever it is open except during class visit times. The library is open from 7:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. every weekday (except school holidays), but on occasional Wednesdays the library closes at 1:30 p.m. so that I can attend districtwide library staff meetings.

This year the library will be closed around lunch time for 30 minutes. On Monday and Tuesday, this closure will be from 11:35 to 12:05, and on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, the time is 11:05 to 11:35. Grade 4 may visit the library during lunch recess on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Grade 5 may visit the library during lunch recess on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Every class visits the library every week. Before and after school, families may visit the library until it closes, but after school children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Students are permitted to check out the same number of books as their grade level; so, for example, a first-grader may take one book and a fifth-grader may take five books. Parents may check out ten books at a time. Kindergarteners are also allowed to check out one book but they keep their library book in their classroom. The loan period is one week. A book may be renewed three times, for a total of four weeks. Although there is no fine for late books, patrons are asked to return books promptly. (There may be a long waitlist for the very book you have checked out!) You will receive a courtesy notice every week stating what you or your child have checked out and when it is due. Payment must be made for books that are lost or damaged significantly. Please encourage your children to handle books with care. In particular, now that many of us carry water bottles, it's important to protect books from moisture.

This website is the best way to find out what's happening at the library. The class visit schedule shows when your child's class is coming to library and therefore what day he or she needs to bring any library books to school. On the Current/News page of this website you'll find a blog entry each week that describes what we are doing in the library and why--if, for example, I am reading books in support of curricular topics or related to a civic or cultural event. On the Weekly Readalouds page you can see what I am reading to each grade. If I show any internet content during class visits, I will usually link to it from my weekly blog post or the Weekly Readalouds page. You are obviously aware of the website since you are reading this post! If you find it interesting, I'd be grateful for your recommending it to other Pennekamp parents.

I'd like to express my thanks to the Pennekamp PTA, which is far and away the main source of funding for library materials. When your child brings home a beautiful book from the library, that book was almost surely purchased with PTA funds. I would also like to thank MBEF for funding my position as well as for the many other ways MBEF benefits our students, teachers, and community. Thank you, in turn, to the families that support the Pennekamp PTA and MBEF--your generosity makes our library possible.

This is the last week of class visits to the library. Classes are visiting to hear my favorite end-of-year readalouds and to return books. I will be here next week, but classes do not visit the library. I will be plenty busy next week, seeing to the return of all the books and putting things in order for next year. 

All books are due on or before June 8. A hold will be placed on the report card of any student who fails to return or pay for his or her library books by the end of the school year. A hold will also be placed on a student's report card if his or her parent has unresolved library books at the end of the school year. Please return all library books OR pay for any that have been lost or significantly damaged. I can tell you the price of books for which payment must be made. Payment must be in exact change or a check payable to MBUSD.

The Pennekamp library is closed over the summer. Fortunately there are several great public libraries right nearby. The Manhattan Beach public library has a summer reading program and has increased (it seems to me) their activities and cultural events with many fun, creative ideas for every age. The best way to find out about everything happening there is to sign up for the library's electronic newsletter. I know many families like the libraries in Redondo Beach, Torrance, and El Segundo. All are great options to make sure everyone has exciting reading materials for the summer!

The library will be open until 3:15 or later this week despite early dismissal. Feel free to come by before or after your child's assessment.

It's kind of pleasant at this point in the school year to read some simply enjoyable books. The week's choices are loosely grouped around the topic of adventure. A couple I have not read aloud before: The Antlered Ship, by Dashka Slater, and A Voyage in the Clouds, by Michael Olshan. They are both beautifully illustrated. I'm looking forward to seeing how the students like them.

This is the last week to check out books from the library for this school year. Friday, June 1, is the last day for students and parents. Students in grade 5 are no longer checking out because they are beginning to get their permission slips signed, which indicates that they no longer have library books. All books are due on or before June 8. Classes will visit the library next week but will not be checking out books--returns only next week.

A hold will be placed on the report card of any student who fails to return or pay for his or her library books by the end of the school year. A hold will also be placed on a student's report card if his or her parent has unresolved library books at the end of the school year. Please return all library books OR pay for any that have been lost or significantly damaged. I can tell you the price of books for which payment must be made. Payment must be in exact change or a check payable to MBUSD.

Today the book club for 5th grade had its last meeting of the year. The 23 participants have done a great job of reading and discussing five substantial novels across a variety of genres. We rate every book we read, and the members this year have been pretty hard to impress; but the book we just read--Restart, by Gordon Korman--received a nearly perfect score (4.93 stars out of a possible 5, a new club record). I have enjoyed spending time with these dedicated students, and I hope the experience has helped build an enduring community of readers.

This week TK, K, and 1st grade are hearing an assortment of recently acquired books. Most of them have to do with tackling something new or difficult. 

Grade 2 continues with The Legend of Spud Murphy. It is a chapter book, and with it I'm showing the students a selection of chapter books that are around the reading level of most 2nd-graders. Last week we looked at Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, Galaxy Zach, Mercy Watson, and others; this week I'm showing them a bunch including Zeke Meeks, Dodsworth, My First Puppy (by Krailing), Behind the Couch, and Space Taxi. 

I have never read aloud Knit Your Bit, although it was previously on the district summer reading lists. During World War I, knitting for soldiers became a national effort. Children, men, and women took up knitting needles to supply overseas troops with sweaters and socks. Knit Your Bit touches on the week's theme of trying something new or difficult: girls and boys who have not previously knitted challenge each other to a knitting contest. It is also in honor of Memorial Day, on May 28.

Also for Memorial Day, grade 4 will be hearing a new book, ​Maya Lin: Artist-Architect of Light and Lines, by Jeanne Walker Harvey. Below are a couple of photos of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, designed by Maya Lin. ​

May is Asian-Pacific Island Heritage Month, so that’s the theme for this week’s readalouds and books on display.

The library will close at 1:30 on Wednesday so that I can attend an off-campus meeting of library staff. Then on Friday, I will take a vacation day to attend a family function. The library will be up and running, though, in the very able hands of Julie Limbach Jones, former Pennekamp library media specialist!