Thursday, May 31, 2012

Summer Loan is Back Again!

It's that time of year! It's time for Summer Loan! This is how it works: your parent fills out a permission slip, you select books, keep them all summer and return them in the fall. If you're in the eighth grade, you will return your books to the high school and they will send them to us. Summer Loan information was sent in an Edline e-mail blast, posted in the Jottings, posted in homerooms, on the announcements, on the tvs and in e-mails to faculty. New books were put in the windows for you to check out for the summer.
What's with all the bags you say? If you're an AMS student, you know that in these bags are some amazing books just waiting to be devoured over the summer! Enjoy your summer books!

Pleasure Read Book Club

The Algonquin Library hosts a series of book discussion groups called Pleasure Read led by Ms. Rebecca Ekstrom, School Library Media Specialist and Mrs. Cindy Dowd, 7th and 8th grade Literacy Teacher. Students who sign up to participate read any book from a genre of their choice, preferably one from the Algonquin Middle School Library. Each student comes prepared to share their book. They write down a synopsis, along with their thoughts on grade level, genre, book rating and any personal comments. They also will be deciding if the book is thought provoking, a page turner or has a great first page.
The last meeting of this school year’s Pleasure Read took place on Tuesday, April 24th. 18 students attended along with three faculty members. Everyone participated in group discussion of excellent books as snacks were enjoyed. For this book club, genres range from science fiction to realistic fiction to romance. When asked why they come to Pleasure Read, one enthusiastic Algonquin student said, “It sounded like fun to talk about our books and see friends. It was!” When asked what they liked about Pleasure Read, one student said, “Every time I go I can have a fresh choice of books.” Another AMS student commented, “I liked talking about our books the most, but I really enjoyed everything. I will come back again!” A third student said, “I like the part when everyone shared their books and now I know some great books to read.”
Some might say one of the best parts of Pleasure Read is the respectful debate and thought provoking questions that create discussion. A book may be compared or contrasted with another book or with another series. Deeper discussion might also include the theme of a book and its relation to current events today. Pleasure Read is a forum where students can share their favorite books, meet new people, learn about new books they can read and express themselves.

James Preller Came to AMS for Read All Day!

Read All Day is a celebration of books, literacy and reading. Guest readers, (including substitute teachers, AP administrators and even a librarian from the Albany Public Library), volunteered their time to read to homerooms and large groups in the auditorium. Students enjoyed listening to poems, picture books, biographies, magazines, short stories and novels during Read All Day. Students in the auditorium even heard The Strange Case of Origami Yoda complete with an origami Yoda finger puppet!
Author James Preller was Algonquin’s special guest for Read All Day. Mr. Preller lives in Delmar and is the author of forty books, including Bystander, (which deals with bullying in a middle school) and Six Innings. Generous support for this author visit was provided by Student Council and the Algonquin Parent Organization. Before his arrival, Mr. Preller was already blogging about his visit to our school. Before he arived, he was blogging about the cake we made made in his honor. Check out his blog for more about this.
Mr. Preller presented to each grade and spoke about his books, including Bystander, which is about bullying. This author visit ties in with the many anti-bullying initiatives that have been undertaken at AMS, such as our Zip It! campaign where students pledged not to bully others. Mr. Preller also gave a special presentation called “The Life of an Author”. He spoke about how he gets his ideas, the writing process and the first book he ever wrote. Mr. Preller answered many questions from our curious students.
One student said one of the best parts of Read All Day was being able to see James Preller and hearing guest readers. Other students said during RAD, “You get to read books and have fun. It’s a lot of fun to be able to have time to read.” Another student commented, “I like hearing guest readers and seeing the different styles of reading.” After hearing the author read from his new young adult book, Before You Go, as well as Bystander, a student said, “Today takes me back to when I was little and my parents would read me stories before bed. I enjoyed being read to by the author.” One student said, “It’s nice to have a well known author come to our school and hear what they’re done in their life.” Another student added, “It’s a good opportunity to hear what an author has to say about their books. You can get ‘on the inside’. Sometimes you read a book and you wonder what the author is thinking.” Students had an opportunity to meet Mr. Preller and talk with him as he signed their books after school. He gave Algonquin students, faculty and staff a memorable day they won't forget!