Welcome Back!

Holy cow!  Welcome back, everyone.  How is it that today is the first day of school already?  It seems summers go by faster each year.  Of course, that may be because I'm just getting older.  Ha!

I am so excited to see all your smiling faces again, and I look forward to sharing some great books with you this year.  I hope you'll find many new stories that will become personal favorites.

You can count on the library to continue sposnoring many fun activities and events, including our Halloween Trivia Night, which was wildly successful last year.

We will begin rolling out iPads tomorrow to the 8th grade, followed by 7th grade on Friday.  Sixth grade will get theirs next week.  After that, I hope to get our ELA classes into the library for visits just as soon as possible.  

Finally, for those of you who like to donate to your teachers and schools, this is our library's wish list for this school year.  The items on the list will help us implement our activities and events.  If you order from the Amazon list, those items will be delivered to us here at school.  As always, we are so super appreciative of your support! 

Until I get to see you, keep reading!

P.S.  What was a good book or short story you read over the summer? Feel free to leave a comment if you'd like to share the title with us.  I enjoyed reading A Hopeful Heart: Louisa May Alcott Before Little Women.  Little Women is one of my favorite books and movies (esp. the 2019 version) and I liked reading about the author's life as a child and young adult.  

Not-so-fun-fact:  The 2019 version of Little Women was the last movie I saw in a theatre before the world was plunged into the Covid pandemic.  My husband and I were visiting our daughter in Chicago for Valentine's Day weekend in February of 2000 and the three of us went to the movies to see it.  A little over a month later, everyone would be sheltering in place, and that theatre closed down for a long time.  My family loves going to the movies, so I was glad when all the theatres reopened.

Celebrate National Library Week 2024

'The theme for National Library Week 2024, “Ready, Set, Library!,” promotes the idea that in our always-online world, public libraries give us a green light to something truly special: a place to connect with others, learn new skills, and focus on what matters most. Find your crew at your public library’s author talks, workshops, and book clubs.

No matter where you find yourself on the roadmap through life’s journey—navigating through school, preparing for a new career, launching a business, or raising a family—your library provides an inclusive and supportive community where everyone belongs.

Get ready to explore, become inspired, and connect with your library this National Library Week. Libraries are there for you, all the way to the finish line. National Library Week 2024 is celebrated Sunday, April 7th through Saturday, April 13th.'

We have a wonderful public library in Westmoreland, and I encourage you to stop by and get to know Ms. Lauren Rippy and her workers and check out what all they have to offer.

Second Annual WMS Egg Hunt

It's almost that time again.  This upcoming Saturday, March 30 will be the Egg Hunt sponsored by the library.  It will work the same as last year.  5 eggs will be hidden throughout the WMS school zone, meaning anywhere a student can reside and be eligible to attend Westmoreland Middle School.  Picture clues as to where the 5 eggs are hidden will be posted on our school Facebook page at 11:00 that morning.  

Should you find an egg, there are goodies and instructions inside on what to do next and how to claim your prize.

Prizes will be awarded the following Monday at school in the library,

GOOD LUCK, HUNTERS!

And the Winner Is...

On January 22, the ALA (American Library Association) announced all its book awards, and you know I've been anxiously awaiting to find out the winner of the John Newbery Medal.  

Drum roll, please...

This year's winner is The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers.  

“I’ve read just about every Newbery winner from the last 50 years or so, and my kids grew up reading them, too,” Eggers told The Associated Press in an email Monday. “Last night my kids were telling me how much that golden sticker meant to them as readers, and to have ‘Eyes’ among those books we love so much — it’s just surreal.”

To see a list of all 2024 ALA winners, check out their website HERE.

I'll be ordering one soon to have on the shelves here at WMS.  Be on the lookout for it.

Christmas Book Ornament Guessing Game Winners

Congratulations to our grade level and teacher winners in the library’s Christmas tree book ornament guessing game. Amazingly, these 3 students each correctly guessed 15 of the 20 ornaments.

(L-R)

7th grade Levi Ducommon

6th grade Trisana Lake

8th grade Alex Clark

There was a tie among our teachers with Ms Tammi Lake (pictured) and Ms. Lauren Werbowsky each correctly guessing 15 ornaments.

Ornaments 11 - 20

And here they are...the final ten ornaments.  Do any familiar works of literature come to mind when you look at these?

Entry forms can be found on the circulation desk in the library, and they are due no later than Monday afternoon, December 18.

Prizes will be awarded Tuesday morning.

2023 Christmas Ornament Contest

It's that time of year again.  Time to guess the title of the work of literature represented by an ornament on our Christmas tree.  The student in each grade correctly guessing the most titles will win a great prize.  In case of a tie, a drawing will be held to determined the winner.

Students will be able to view the tree in person during when their ELA class visits the library, and they are also able to stop in and view the tree whenever they may have some free time throughout the day.  The ornaments will also be posted here.

Entry forms are available in the library and must be returned by the end of the day on Monday, December 18.

Here are the first ten.

Good luck!

Another GREAT Book Fair and Door Prize Winners

We wrapped up another successful Book Fair just before getting out for Thanksgiving break, which we trust was a happy one for everyone full of all the turkey and dressing a person could eat.

This year's fair raised over $1,500 for our school library.  As always, this money is used to buy books and supplies for our library program.  

We could NOT have had such a successful fair without the support of so many of our wonderful parents, grandparents, teachers, staff, and students.  From the bottom of my heart, I thank each and every one of you.

The above students were our Family Night Door Prize winners.

Book Characters Visit the Library for Halloween

We had some special characters who walked right out of the pages of some of our favorite books and into the library on Halloween to snag a few treats.

This isn't everyone, but some of the ones who came by were...

Thing 1 and Thing 2

Harry Potter

Pennywise

Jack the Scarecrow 

Batman

Edward Cullen from Twilight

Annabeth Chase from Percy Jackson and Amos from Fox and the Hound

Venti

Where's Waldo

and Fern Arable from Charlotte's Web

Book Pumpkin Character Winners

For the scond year in a row, we had lots of great book character pumpkins submitted in our contest. I am pleased to present this year's winners...

(Standing L-R)

8th-grader Isabella Parks, 7th-graders Evelyn Barrett, Bayan Ouertani and Harmonie Little, and 6th-grader Madalyn Jones

(Seated L-R)

Autumn Reid and Gabrielle Graves.

6th-grader Madalyn Jones with The Cat in the Hat

7th-graders Evelyn Barrett, Bayan Ouertani and Harmonie Little with a trio from Harry Potter.

8th-grader Isabella Parks with Oogie Book from A Nightmare Before Christmas

Our Teacher Favorite, as voted on by the faculty and staff, is 7th-grader Autumn Reid with The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Our Fan Favorite, as voted on by the student body at WMS along with our Facebook followers, is Gabrielle Graves with Cinderella.

All participants received goody bags, while our winners received prize ribbons, books, and treats.

Congratulations to all our winners, and a big THANK YOU to everyone who participated and their parents for their support.