Book Fair always means lots of great books and plenty of wonderful volunteers. They help to organize the books. It takes most of the morning to get the books like we want them and so everyone is ready to eat when lunchtime arrives.

After a morning of sorting the books like we want it the book fair is ready for students. Ms. Lyons (media clerk) does a wonderful job each year with the decorations.

Now for the best part-students getting excited about the books. We start off with 3 days of browsing and finish with 5 days of buying. 

March has been a busy month. One of the items that has contributed to the bustle has been the Cover 2 Cover Book Club. We met weekly from September to December to discuss the books on our list. Once all the books were read we started to prepare for the competition by meeting 2-3 times a week from January to March.

We had a great time preparing and even more fun on March 8th when our team along with almost 3500 other students descended on Berkmar High School to compete. 

Gwin Oaks students did a FANTASTIC job and placed 2nd in their division. 

A few days later (just before book fair started) we celebrated with a party to honor all of their hard work. One of the best things was when a couple of my 4th grade students asked if they could be part of the book club again next year.

Gwin Oaks students had a wonderful time on World Read Aloud Day connecting with students across the country and an author, Joanne Levy, in Canada. During World Read Aloud Day students were able to learn about the other schools they were connecting with and share stories at the same time. This day was filled with laughter, wonderful connections, and lots of good stories. I frequently heard students say how much they enjoyed it and can't wait to do it again next year. Here are just a few of the comments I heard.
I liked it since it is a great day to celebrate reading.- Devin

It was fun and we got to meet other people at different schools.- Arya

I liked that we got to read together and join classes.-Mya

The teachers also had a great time, as indicated by this post by one of them on Facebook. We had the best celebration today! Our awesome media specialist, Sharon Amolo, set up a Skype book share with a first grade class in Massachusetts. What a great experience!

I have to agree with my teachers and students World Read Aloud Day was a such a magical experience. This was our first time participating, but it has already become a Gwin Oaks tradition.

Loved connecting with everyone. Thanks Shannon Miller at Van Meter Elementary  and Andy Plemmons at Barrow Elementary for setting up the Google Doc. It made finding others so easy. Afterwards I was easily able to make my schedule.

Each student who participated in World Read Aloud Day received a sticker I made from their logo.

Our first connection was with Ms. Garland's students in Massachusetts. Togehter we read  two of Mo Willems Elephant and Piggie books; I'm Going and I Broke My Trunk. As always these were a crowd pleaser and a great way to start our day.

Next on the schedule was Ms. Lussier's class in Connecticut. Two of her students did a fabulous job reading Hey Little Ant by Phillip M. Hoose and then Ms. Lussier and I read I'm Going and There's a Bird on Your Head by Mo Willems.

Then it was time to connect with our next school in Florida. This was a special connection because Ms. Burken recently joined the Gwin Oaks Elementary family a couple of months ago and this was her former school. She was able to see her students at her old school and celebrate World Read Aloud Day with them. 

Next it was time to connect with Ms. Sikes's students. These students were in the county next to us in Forsyth, Georgia. It was nice to make a connection with a class close to home. Ms. Sikes read Are You a Horse by Andy Rash. My students loved this book and I promised them I would get a copy for the media center.

Author Joanne Levy connected with Ms. Toldt's 5th grade class. Joanne is the author of Small, Medium, and at Large. Joanne read a funny part from the story that the students enjoyed. We spent the rest of the time asking Joanne questions about her life as author. Soon after the visit ended the copies we have in the media center were checked out.

Our day continued with a connection with Ms. Lewis's students in Cherokee County, Georgia. Just like with our connection to Ms. Sikes we found a new group of friends close to home. Ms. Lewis read One Cool Friend by Toni Buzzeo and my 2nd graders and I read I'm Going by Mo Willems together. I was Elephant and they had a great time being Piggie.

As our day was wrapping up we connected with a school we've been Skyping with for two years, Ms. Broderick's class at Zervas Elementary in Massachusetts. Since she had 5th graders and I had kindergartens her students read The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt aloud to my class. Her students did a wonderful job taking turns reading the different crayon parts.

Our day ended with Ms. Ford's class in Texas. We each took turns reading different parts in The Day the Crayons Quit. Both of our students couldn't help but laugh as each crayon pleaded their case. We LOVE this story.