BOOK FAIR BEGINS TOMORROW, DEC. 4

Our book fair has been delayed one day because we were all out of school yesterday due to an unexpected snow day. I can't say that it wasn't a nice surprise. Of course, it would have been even nicer with some actual snow on the ground.

Our new fair start date is now Thursday, December 4. All other dates will remain the same.

New to this year's fair is a program called One for Books. For each donation of $1.00 Scholastic will donate a book to a charitable children's organization. Plus, our school receives free books for participating in the program.

Living Literature Team Gets Started

November is here and at WMS it can be a hectic time for many students, what with all the basketball games and club activities that are ongoing. One group keeping busy is our school's living literature team. This group of Junior Beta students is at work on their new scene for the upcoming Tennessee Junior Beta Club Convention. The convention, as usual, will be held at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville. Last year's group placed third at state and later won the national contest for their depiction of The Tale of Despereaux. And while I can't tell you just yet the book they will be recreating this time I can say that it looks to be another promising year for our group (knock on wood).

Our team this year, which includes old and new faces is

Austyn Carter

Ren Creasy

T.J. Johnson

Logan Troutt

Katie Adcock (new)

Blake Holmes (new)

Clint Watson (new)

Book Fair Planned for WMS

The library will be sponsoring a Scholastic Book Fair December 3 – December 12. With Christmas just around the corner this provides a good time to pick up a gift or two for the reader(s) in your family and help out our library at the same time. Our library will receive 30% profit if our fair sales total more than $3,000 and 25% profit if sales are more than $1,800.
To better accommodate our parents there will be two Family Nights during this year’s fair. These will be held Tuesday and Wednesday, December 9 and 10 from 3:00 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. As usual, there will be drawings for door prizes following these nights. Any student visiting the book fair during a Family Night event may register.

New to this year’s fair is a program called One for the Books. For each dollar donated by a student, parent, or staff member Scholastic will donate one book to a charitable organization. Each donor’s name will be exhibited in the school.

Please visit our book fair website listed below for more information about the fair.
http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/homepage/westmorelandmiddle

We're back in Business!!!

Hello, everyone. After some initial problems with our internet service at the start of the year we are once again able to make posts to this site. Be sure to check back from time to time for the latest information regarding the Westmoreland Middle School Library.

Living Lit Team Wins National Competition

Congratulations to our school's Living Literature Team for their first place finish at this year's Junior Beta Club National Convention held in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina June 13-17. The team had placed third on the state level in November for their depiction of The Tale of Despereaux and were then invited to participate at the national level. After some improvements were made to the scene by Ms. Susan Raby, Mr. David Custer, Mr. Tim Copeland, and others the team was able to secure the top prize. Members of the team included Austyn Carter, Logan Troutt, T.J. Johnson, Kayla Wright, Ren Creasy, and Ashley Lesogor.

Summer Is Here!!!

Summer is finally here. If you're looking for activities to keep your child educationally stimulated during June and July check out what's happening at the Hendersonville Public Library. Thursday nights at the HPL are just for teens. Starting at 6:00, come in for games, fun, prizes, and, of course, food.

May 29th Legends and Mysteries: Learn about the great legends and mysteries of our time, go on an Indiana Jones-themed treasure hunt, and make your own crop circles.

June 5th Globe Noshing: Cooking demonstrations and taste tests of international cuisine. There will also be a "no-cook cook off" for best and worst recipes made from the ingredients we have on hand.

June 19th Vampires and the Women Who Love Them: Come for a discussion of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series, gush about the upcoming movie, have some of Bella's lasagna, and play the "Find Edward" game.

June 26th Anime Mania: Bring some anime to vote on and watch and hang out with other popcorn eating, soda sipping anime fans.

July 3rd Scribblers: Creative writers, bring your poems, stories, and songs for a night of sharing and critiquing.

Jule 10th Chocolate Olympics: Celebrate the wonder that is chocolate by competing in four events: Chocolate Talk, Candy Bar ID, M&M Gymnastics, and Chocolate Chip Archery. Oh, and prepare to get messy.

July 17th Anime Mania 2: More of the same from June 26th.

Battle of the Books Photos

Pictured above are the two winning teams from this year's Battle of the Books contest held in early May at WMS.

Battle of the Books Winners

Today we held the first ever Battle of the Books at W.M.S. Based on what I witnessed and overheard of others it was a lot of fun and a big success. I can't wait until next year's battle rolls around.

Before conrgratulating the winners I want to send out a very special "thank you" to Mrs. Gail Eller. Mrs. Gail was our scorekeeper during each of the games and was a big help in keeping things on track. Mrs. Gail was my 3rd grade teacher, former co-worker, and library mentor and she is always willing to volunteer whenever she's called. Thanks again, Mrs. Gail.

Our 5th/6th grade winning team was team 4. This group of talented readers consisted of Michael Byrd, Jessica Gregory, Luke Hall, Racheal Herschberger, and Abbie Hinton.

The erudite group winning the 7th/8th grade battle was comprised of Amber Hartman, Kristen Ray, Julian Lamkin, Ashley Tuttle, and Ren Creasy.

Congratulations to these and all the participants for a job well-done.

Spring Book Fair

Our spring book fair has ended. Considering we were only open 3 1/2 days it did quite well. Thank you to all those who shopped with us. The library profitted approximately $350 from this fair. Our family night winners were 7th-grader Chloe Garrison and Ms. Angie Graves.

Nashville Sounds Trip

I want to thank each of the students who attended the field trip to see the Sounds' baseball game on May 5. Their behavior was excellent and it was a pleasure to escort them during this fun trip. I think the only bad thing to come of the day was the sunburn some of us were fortunate enough to receive.

Living Lit. Team to Visit Performance Studios

The W.M.S. Junior Beta Club's Living Literature team will visit Performance Studios' costume showroom next week in downtown Nashville to possibly choose a wardrobe for the upcoming contest at the National Beta Convention in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The team earned an invitation to compete at the national level after placing third in the state contest depicting a scene from the 2004 Newbery winner, The Tale of Despereaux. Ms. Raby, our art teacher, has been hard at work tweaking our scene's backdrop, while Mr. David Custer has been helping construct the support frame. Prior to going on the road with their scene the team will stage a viewing for all the students at WMS during Living Art Day.

Spring Book Fair Is On It's Way

Our spring book fair is officially slated for May 5 - 9. However, the cases of books usually arrive a few days in advance, so we'll open the fair just as soon as the books arrive and we can get them set up. Our Family night will be Wednesday, May 7 from 3:00 - 6:00. Those visiting on Family Night will be entered into a drawing for some free goodies. Unfortunately, this is not the 1/2 price fair, but you should still be able to find some great books at pretty good prices. Hope to see you there!!!

Countdown to Nashville Sounds Field Trip

Several of our students will be attending a field trip a week from today on Monday, May 5 to watch the Nashville Sounds play ball. These students earned this trip by participating in our recent reading program. Students going on the trip will need to bring money to spend at the concession stands. I would suggest at least $10. For a complete menu please visit http://www.nashvillesounds.com/stadium/standmenus.asp .

Battle of the Books Reading list 7/8 Grade

Spencer H. - Giver / Heat
Alex T. - Hoot / Here Lies the Librarian
Vincenza C. - Teacher's Funeral / Jacob Have I
Jordan L. - Tom Sawyer / Airborn
McKensey O. - Each Little Bird / Midwife's App.

Kayla W. - Jacob Have I / Each Little Bird
Tharon T. - Heat / Giver
Jeremy V. - Tom Sawyer / Airborn
Kayla H. - Hoot Teacher's Funeral
Krissie Mc. - Here Lies the Lib. / Midwife's App.

Katie A. - Heat / Giver
Landen A. - Airborn / Tom Swayer
Cheyenne S. - Each Little Bird / Hoot
Ashley L. - Jacob Have I / Teacher's Funeral
Crystal W. - Here Lies the Lib. / Midwife's App.

Julian L. - Tom Sawyer / Giver
Amber H. - Airborn / Jacob Have I
Kristen R. - Each Little Bird / Heat
Ren C. - Hoot / Here Lies the Lib.
Ashely T. - Midwife's App. / Teacher's Funeral

Brandy B. - Hoot / Heat
Allison H. - Tom Sawyer / Each Little Bird
Shelby O. - Here Lies the Lib. / Airborn
Keedy B. - Giver / Midwife's App.
Cassie B. - Teacher's Funeral

Battle of the Books Reading List 5/6 Grade

Lauren C. - Tale of Desp. / Single Shard
Hayley A. - Charlie and the Choc. / Diary of a Wimp

Tori U. - Hatchet / Number the Stars

Chance H. - Bridge to Tera. / Island of the Blue Dolphins

Eli S. - Journey of Ed. Tulane / Summer of the Swans

Aaron S. - # the Stars / Journey of Ed. Tulane

Morgan B. - Hatchet / Charlie and the Choc.

Sara K. - Single Shard / Summer of the Swans

Chasidy B. - Bridge to Tera. / Diary of a Wimp

Emily W. - Island of the Blue / Tale of Desp.

Elizabeth C. - Single Shard / Island of the Blue

Chapel A. - Journey of Ed. Tulane / Number the Stars

Anna S. - Bridge to Tera. / Tale of Despereaux

Christoher Z. - Summer of the Swans / Hatchet

Brandon Hudson - Charlie and the Choc. / Diary of a Wimp

Michael B. - Charlie and the Choc. / Tale of Depser.

Luke H. - Diary of a Wimp / Number the Stars

Racheal H. - Bridge to Tera. / Journey of Ed. Tulane

Jessica G. - Island of the Blue / Hatchet

Abbie H. - Single Shard / Summer of the Swans

Megan C. - Summer of the Swans - Island of the Blue Dolphins

Shanese A. - Bridge to Tera. / Charlie and the Choc.

Courtney S. - Number the Stars / Journey of Ed. Tulane

Clint W. - Hatchet / Single Shard

Chandler F. - Diary of a Wimp / Tale of Desper.

Savannah D. - Summer of the Swans / Single Shard

Dana M. - Island of the Blue Dolphins / Hatchet

Danielle W. - Journey of Ed. Tulane / Diary of a Wimp

Taylor M. - Tale of Desper. / Number the Stars

Paige C. - Bridge to Tera. / Charlie and the Choc.

A Big "Thank You"!

The library would like to thank the WMS Student Council for their donation of $1,000.00. This money will be used to purchase books for the 500s section (for those of you who have forgotten the Dewey Decimal Classification system this means the science section :>)). Again, a big thanks to our student council. These students are another reason we are the #1 middle school in Sumner County.

Begin Reading for Battle of the Books Now!!!

Hopefully, everyone on a team has already been reading some of the titles on our list. Now, it's time to begin reading the two books for which you will need to become an expert. If you have forgotten which two books you need to read stop by the library and see Ms. Creasy. Remember...our Battle of the Books will be on May 13.

Nashville Sounds' Reading Program Comes to an End

Our 2008 Reading Program has come to an end. Several students participated in our school's first attempt at this reading incentive. Hopefully, the number will continue to increase in the years to come. The following students have earned a ticket to attend the field trip to see the Sounds play ball next month (an * indicates a home run):

Cheyenne Smith

Ren Creasy

Jordan Lambert

Alexis Meadors

Crystal Wortman

Tharon Turner

Julian Lampkin *

Gwendolyn Frederick

Clint Watson

Megan Cowles *

Courtney Southern

Travis Blanchette

Catherine Roberts

Shelby O'Neal

Keedy Burdeshaw

Katie Young *

Savannah Draper

Jessica Gregory

Kristin Clark *

Brittany Porter *

Tristin Neal *

Katie Moss *

Luke Hall *

Chance Hall *

Colby Bickerton

Dana Ruckman

Sounds Program to End Soon

This Thursday will be the last day you will be able to turn in book forms/summaries and be eligible for the free ticket to the Sounds game. Each student wishing to attend the game needs to turn in at least 2 completed forms and summaries. I will be open late Thursday night (until 6:30ish) so you may drop them off until that time. After Thursday, the only prizes you can win will be the coupons for the restaurants and the book store.

Student Donations

These students have made donations to our library this year.

We appreciate them and their parents for their efforts in building our collection.

(Check back from time to time for more names)

Gordon Vaught

Nicole Foy

Ethan Jones

Sean Kennedy

Lucas Carr

Ren Creasy

Destiny Park

Kelsey Gregory

Jessica Gregory

WMS Receives Additional Funds

I am very pleased to announce that our library was one of a handful in the county to receive an additional $5,000 to spend on materials. This was a huge, and very appreciated, surprise! With this we were able to purchase one new Dell computer and a bunch of new books. We spent approximately $1,000 on our fiction section and the rest, about $3,300, on non-fiction books. Wow!!!

Updated Library Hours

Monday-Wednesday

3:00 - 4:30

Thursday

3:00 - 6:00

If your child would like to visit the library on a Mon.-Wed. please call ahead of time to let us know that he/she plans on staying. Students should be picked up no later than 4:30.

Thursdays are reserved for students who are accompanied by a parent, unless other arrangements have been made with the librarian.

Battle of Books Date Set

May 13, 2008

Home Run Readers

Congratulations to ...(and check back often for more names)

Tristin Neal
Kristin Clark
Brittany Porter

Julian Lamkin

Luke Hall

Chance Hall

Katie Moss

Katie Young

Megan Cowles

Nashville Sounds Reading Club Date Extended

The time our students have been given to participate in the reading program sponsored by the Sounds has been extended through Thursday, March 20. All book forms and summaries must be in by that date. Remember, a base is reached each time a new book is read (see previous posting for rules, etc.).

Battle Teams Set

Students who signed up to participate in the Battle of the Books have now been placed on teams or as alternates. The different teams are in the process of meeting with Ms. Creasy one at a time to discuss the competition in greater detail.

The definite date of the battle has not been set, though it will be in May.

Nashville Sounds Reading Club

Earn a free ticket to see
The Nashville Sounds play ball!
(and more)

How?
Read.

Each book you read equals 1 base reached. Therefore, upon completing your fourth book you will have scored a homerun. Each book you read should contain at least 100 pages. You must also complete a summary form for each book read. I have attached one summary form to this letter. As you need more (for 2nd base, etc.) see Ms. Creasy in the library. For the purpose of simplicity we will stick to a “1 book for 1 base” policy. Therefore, if the first book you read contains 150 pages you are on first base, not halfway between first and second.

This reading program will run from February 4 – March 14.

All forms must be in to Ms. Creasy in the library no later than March 14 to be eligible for prizes.

You must score a homerun to earn your free ticket to the game.

Sorry, but you may not use books of which there have been movies made. So, no Holes, Harry Potter, Wizard of Oz, etc.

The game date will be announced soon. It is possible that it will be a day game and used as a field trip.

Students scoring a home run will have their picture taken for the local paper.

Those students on a Battle of the Books team may use books read for that towards this program.

Please see Ms. Creasy in the library if you have any questions.

Additional Prizes:

Free meals at Applebee’s, Wendy’s, Rainforest Café
Free medium limeade at Sonic
Free book from Barnes and Noble
A chance to win more at the game

Updated Reading List for Battle of the Books

5th / 6th Grade

Bridge to Terabithia – Paterson
Hatchet – Paulsen
Number the Stars – Lowry
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Dahl
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane – DiCamillo
The Tale of Despereaux –DiCamillo
A Single Shard – Park
Summer of the Swans – Byars
Island of the Blue Dolphins – O’dell
Diary of a Wimpy Kid – Kinney


7th / 8th Grade

The Teacher’s Funeral – Peck
The Giver – Lowry
Hoot – Hiaasen
Jacob Have I Loved – Paterson
Each Little Bird That Sings – Wiles
Here Lies the Librarian – Peck
The Midwife’s Apprentice – Cushman
Heat – Lupica
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer – Twain
Airborn – Oppel

Battle of the Books Teams Condensed

For this year only we will combine our grades in creating teams for the Battle of the Books. We will have 5 teams comprised of 5th and 6th graders and 5 teams comprised of 7th and 8th graders. The reading lists will also slightly change to reflect our combined groups.

Remember, the deadline for signing up is January 31.

Battle of the Book Reading Lists

Battle of the Books
Reading List

The following is a list of books (author’s last name included) your child will need to read to compete in the contest. The library has some of these titles available for checkout. However, you may need to obtain some on your own elsewhere.

5th Grade
Sign of the Beaver – Spears
How to Eat Fried Worms – Rockwell
Bridge to Terabithia – Paterson
Hatchet – Paulsen
Number the Stars – Lowry
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Dahl
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane – DiCamillo


6th Grade
The Tale of Despereaux –DiCamillo
A Single Shard – Park
Summer of the Swans – Byars
The School Story – Clements
Holes – Sachar
Island of the Blue Dolphins – O’dell
Diary of a Wimpy Kid – Kinney


7th Grade
The Teacher’s Funeral – Peck
Where the Red Fern Grows – Rawls
The Giver – Lowry
Hoot – Hiaasen
Jacob Have I Loved – Paterson
Each Little Bird That Sings - Wiles
Uglies – Westerfeld


8th Grade
Here Lies the Librarian – Peck
To Kill a Mockingbird – Lee
The Midwife’s Apprentice – Cushman
Heat – Lupica
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer – Twain
Airborn - Oppel
Code Orange - Cooney

Battle of the Books Comes to WMS

The library will be sponsoring a Battle of the Books competition this year. Students in each of the grades are invited to sign up to participate. Teams will be chosen from the returned registration forms. We are hoping to have a team (consisting of 5 members and an alternate) represent each reading class. Students will compete against other students from within their own grade on a day set aside at the end of the school year.

The contest consists of teams reading books from a pre-selected book list. Each grade has a specific list of books from which to read. You'll be able to find these in an additional post. During the contest students are asked questions regarding the books and must answer with the correct title. The team with the most correct answers by the end of the round wins.

Each student participating will receive a certificate. Each members of a winning team will receive an additional award.

Welcome to our Library's Blog

Hello, everyone. Welcome to our blog. This will be just another tool we use to keep you informed of the happenings at Westmoreland Middle School Library. Be sure to check in from time to time to see what's going on.