Mrs. Sylvia Reed Visits Burgess-Peterson Academy

On March 19, Mrs. Sylvia Reed, Mayor Kasim Reed’s mother, read to pre-k and kindergarten students at Burgess-Peterson Academy in recognition of Governor Nathan Deal’s “Georgia Reads Aloud Day.” The children welcomed Mrs. Reed with a special song and presented her biography. Before Mrs. Reed began to read aloud, she interacted with the students and allowed them to ask her questions. “I like to dialogue with young people because I want to know what is on your minds,” Mrs. Reed said.

Student Question #1:
“What is the favorite thing about being first mother?”
Response:
“My favorite time is being with young people like yourself, seeing what you’re doing and to hear your thoughts, and sharing with you as you continue to grow.”

Student Question #2:
“How can I grow up to be mayor?”
Response:
“You’re in the right place right now. Learn the basics, listen to parents and teachers, go to college and do great things in the community, especially to those who are less fortunate. Always do your best, and believe in yourself and believe in serving people.”

Special thanks to Mrs. Reeds who read Maybe When I’m Bigger by Christianne C. Jones to the lively group of children. This event was sponsored by the Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) as part of the First Lady Sandra Deal’s “Read Across Georgia” initiative.

Georgia’s first lady shows Usher students reading is fun for all ages

Kindergarten and first-grade students at Usher-Collier Heights listened in fascination last week as Georgia’s first lady, Sandra Deal, read the book, “Who I’d Like to Be.”

Georgia resident Elizabeth Brown wrote the book at age 90, and her eight-year-old great-granddaughter illustrated the book, which is about a boy who dreams of being different animals and insects. Mrs. Deal stated that she searched for a Georgia author, because she wanted to expose children around the state to some of the contributions Georgians are making to society. The reading was part of  Mrs. Deal’s “Read Across Georgia” campaign, which supports Governor Nathan Deal’s goal of increasing the percentage of children reading at grade level by the end of third grade.

After the reading Mrs. Deal told the Usher-Collier Heights students that they must practice reading everyday so that they can become great readers.

“Practice not just one time, but everyday of the week — even in the summertime,” she said.   “In the summer you can go to the library and check-out lots of books.”

Before Mrs. Deal left kindergartener Anisa Badi presented her with a gift to show the students’ appreciation.

“I gave her a gift, and I made her a card with my classmates. And we made a picture about us with Ms. Weems and the first lady, Sandra Deal,” Anisa said.

Anisa added that she enjoys reading books, and she loves when others read to hear.  Her favorite part of the the first lady’s reading was when the narrator dreamed about being a pig digging holes with his snout and splashing in puddles.

Monique Campbell, the Pre-K and second-grade coordinator at Usher-Collier Heights, believes that children benefit when adults read to them.

“When students listen to others read, it promotes imagination, creativity and vocabulary,” she stated.   “It was an honor having first lady Deal read to our students today.”

Last year Georgia’s first lady visited 170 schools in 100 counties to emphasize the importance of reading.  As part of the initiative, Mrs. Deal plans to visit multiple schools almost everyday in March.

Real Men Read at Dunbar Elementary

The REAL (Read, Excel, Achieve, and Lead) Men Read program is an exciting reading initiative that is designed to deepen literacy and instill a love for reading in students through mentors who are willing to share a grade appropriate book with a group of students. The program encourages and improves student literacy skills, provides mentoring opportunities for men, and demonstrates the importance of student achievement and community partnerships. A short syllabus is provided to the mentor to guide the presentation and discussion.   Each session lasts approximately 40 minutes, and is a great opportunity for parents and community members to interact with students and have a positive impact on their overall attitudes toward reading. Please contact the coordinator, Andrew Lovett, if you would like to participate in the program.

“The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.” – Mark Twain

Real Men Read Participants:

• Craig Cochran, Schneider International
• Ernest Cooper Jr., Mi-Co Services, Inc. Real Estate & Property Management
• Kailan Hindsman, Upfront Marketing
• Enrol Hooper, Verizon Wireless
• Antonio Lewis, Better Georgia
• Dornelius Mayes, Men of Excellence
• Rueben Wingfield, Fulton County Sheriff
• Stacy Mims & Jason Redmond, Sheltering Arms

Dunbar Staff:

• Samuel Hill, Robert Phipps, Russell Kennedy, Andrew Lovett, & Keith Tennyson

-written by Tomiko Cobb, Media Specialist, Dunbar Elementary

Dr. Seuss/Read Across America Day

Schools across the district celebrated the birthday of famous children’s poet and cartoonist Dr. Seuss on Friday, March 1^st. The day was full of fun and creative festivities that foster student engagement in literacy.

Finch Elementary:

Finch’s school partner Cathedral of Faith Church helped students celebrate literacy by volunteering their time to serve as readers in a Dr. Seuss Read-In. Some volunteers made green eggs and ham with students, others created Dr. Seuss hats with their class, while still another Seuss enthusiast attended in head-to-toe Grinch wear.

Students participated in daily trivia the week leading up to the event, and helped their teachers decorate their classroom doors inspired by Dr. Seuss’ and his elaborate rhyming tales.  Dr. Seuss books were made available in the school’s library and students were encouraged to check out a text, read, complete a book report and dress up as a character. Students enjoyed reading the stories and creating costumes to wear in the parade.  The mighty Finch Eagles walked the hallways of Finch dressed as notable characters like the Cat in the Hat, Thing 1 and 2, and many others. Avon Avenue’s local firefighters came out to watch the parade and waved to students who were proudly displaying their book reports.

Students enjoyed birthday cake donated by Cathedral of Faith during lunch.  After all, it is a birthday we are celebrating!  The cake however was almost stolen by the Grinch since Christmas was not available at the time, but thanks to a ‘resident do-gooder’, and mighty kindergarten eagle, the cake was recovered and eaten by the intended tasters! Finch hopes to continue to celebrate Read-Across-America Day annually as reading and literacy are imperative to all students’ future success.

written by Kiza Draut, First grade co-Teacher, Finch Elementary

Hope-Hill Elementary:

Hope-Hill celebrated Dr. Seuss’s birthday by hosting a Read-a-Thon! Eighteen special guests visited classrooms and read Dr. Seuss books to the children. Guest volunteers included George Nock, a former NFL player, and representatives from Trane companies, Heery, Ingersoll, Rand, Unitarian universalist Congregation of Atlanta, and more. Hope-Hill is grateful for the support from partners and members of the community for Read Across America Day!

D.H. Stanton Elementary:

D. H. Stanton students celebrated Dr. Seuss’s birthday with the help of a very generous group of Atlanta Braves administrators. The visitors donned the familiar red-and-white-striped stovepipe hats and visited each classroom, Pre-K through Grade 3, to read a favorite Dr. Seuss book aloud.  Each student also received a nylon book bag, along with a Braves bumper sticker and tomahawk.  D.H. Stanton is grateful to the following members of the Braves Community Outreach Program:  Erika Newsome, Janet Sevilla, Kasey Decker, Renwick Pridgeon, Lauren Holland, Erin Sheehan, Joshua Woods, Elizabeth Jimenez, Christina Huff, Sarah Amuka, Larry Bowman, and Steve Timmreck.

While read-alouds were taking place in the lower grades, the students in grades 4-5 competed in a “Dr. Seuss Reading Bowl” in the media center (The 2 grade levels had each been given an identical set of 6 Dr. Seuss books to read.)  They participated in 6 rounds of 10 questions each, with the 4th grade emerging as winners.  Their prize was a “Dr. Seuss” cake, which they enjoyed after lunch.  The final event for the day was “The Lorax” movie, which was broadcast to all classrooms.

Dr. Seuss provided the students with amusing, timeless stories, many of which teach important life-lessons.  Dr. Seuss’s birthday is a memorable annual celebration for a very special author.

- written by Brenda Street, Media Specialist at D.H. Stanton

Carmen Agra Deedy Reads to Morningside

Carmen Agra Deedy, an internationally recognized, award-winning author of children’s literature and storyteller, made a special visit to Morningside Elementary. She shared her insights behind storytelling, read her exclusive new book, and told an interactive, engaging story to the children.

Carmen captivated the children with her liveliness, excitement, and animation. They were full of laughter as they followed her hand gestures and repeated her sound effects. Carmen revealed the novels that she is currently working on, and read a segment of her new novel that is not yet published. The novel is based on World War II, and the context was very timely as the older children recently studied World War I. The children loved her new book and begged her to read more.

“I thought her story was really funny, and I learned that even if you’re not the smartest, you can still help people,” says Luisa Lieberman, 1^st grader.

“Today is the kind of day that makes me thankful that I don’t have any other job in the world. I am actually sick today and sometimes situations aren’t always perfect, but when you’re doing what you love, your worst day can still be your best day. It was really fun to share my new book with these kids.” – Carmen Agra Deedy

For more information, please visit CarmenAgraDeedy.com.

Georgia First Lady Sandra Deal visits Perkerson Elementary

On February 7th, Perkerson Elementary had a former school teacher and now First Lady visit their elementary school. Georgia First Lady Sandra Deal spent some time with the Kindergarten class at Perkerson. She read a poem (Learning to Read) and a book (Who I’d Like to Be) to the attentive and active kindergarteners at Perkenson Elementary. First Lady Sandra Deal is a former school teacher who spent the majority of her educational career teaching 6th grade. She mentioned that it had been awhile since she taught but was ready and enjoys every chance she gets to return to the classrooms to visit and take part in school activities. First Lady Deal was well into storyteller mode as she read and made insightful comments about her time spent teaching in the classroom, the importance of literacy and friendships, and telling the students that building a solid educational foundation would help them go far in their lives. “Your teachers are helping you everyday learn the skill of reading because when you can read, you can read math problems, you can read science, you can read social studies and you can read about the world. After that, you can go on to do great things in school and in your lives”, exclaimed First Lady Sandra Deal. “We all know and the research supports that literacy is the gateway skill to all other content areas,” states Perkerson Principal Shawn Bender, “and we greatly appreciate Georgia First Lady Sandra Deal visiting us to share the vital skill of literacy with our students.”

Principal Shawn Bender was joined by faculty of Perkerson and the Early Learning Department at APS in hosting Georgia First Lady Sandra Deal and her staff. The kindergarteners were attentive and eager listeners and learners and Perkerson thanks Georgia First Lady Sandra Deal for her visit to our school!

Today a reader. Tomorrow a leader!

At Dunbar Elementary, the Scholastic Book Fair is an exciting event for students, staff, and parents. This year, the book sales at Dunbar exceeded over $1,800.00! Book fairs allow students to purchase books to build their own personal library at home. Hosting a book fair at school is the best way to support the school’s reading efforts. Students, parents, and teachers love Book Fairs for a number of reasons, including:

• Easy access to a wide assortment of books
• Children can choose books that inspire them to read more
• Book fairs involves family and demonstrates that reading is important

Dunbar also hosted a Family Reading Night, where family members gained a deeper understanding of the important role they play as reading role models. The Family Reading Night offered:

• Facilitated discussion and high-quality, research-based informational resources for families to use at home
• A chance for parents and family members to discuss how to create literacy-rich home environments
• Everyday activities to build children’s literacy skills

“With every fair, we’re connecting kids to books they want to read,” says Alan Boyko, President of Scholastic Book Fairs. “That’s so important, because the more kids read, the better readers they become, and the more successful they’ll be in school, in work, and in life.”

Battle of the Coins is a competition between grade levels to raise money to buy books for the school’s library.  Each grade level was asked to bring in certain coins on certain days, and the students raised over $250.00!

- Written by Tomiko Cobb, Media Specialist at Dunbar Elementary

Writing to Success at Carver Early College

The juniors of Carver Early College gathered in December for the third annual Writing Test Celebration program. The juniors of Carver Early College boast a 100% pass rate for the third consecutive year. This year, they had an 18% exceed rate which is 7 points higher than the district’s average. Keith Crawford and Chamondrea Lane , junior class president, were the master and mistress of ceremony.

         Reflections from several juniors indicated that reading helped to prepare them for the writing test. They said that one of the key benefits of reading was that it increases vocabulary. The juniors also thanked their teachers for thoroughly preparing them for the writing test by teaching writing skills such as the APS technique. APS is an acronym for considering the audience, purpose and subject when you’re writing. All of the students were presented with medals of honor for their landmark achievement.

Mr. Denene, assistant principal of Carver Early College, congratulated the students. He then admonished them to continue to become better writers because writing is the quintessential skill of the twenty-first century. He said that it was the third skill on a list of nineteen that most employers seek in their prospective employees. He said that in addition to writing being an essential skill, it helps your thinking and creativity. He also stated that although good writing has structure and form, it also allows unlimited creativity.

written by Linda J. Green, Media Specialist, Carver Early College

Inman Middle Students Named Winners in Reading Competition!

Congratulations to Inman for winning in the Georgia Tech Women’s Basketball Jacket 2 Jacket Reading Program! They won the middle school division for the total number of pages read in the Jacket 2 Jacket Contest for all participants at Georgia Tech. Inman also had the following overall winners for all middle schools:

· Sahana Parker – individual winner for highest reader for all 6th graders
· Genevieve Saunders – individual winner for highest reader for all 8th graders
· Mrs. Baker’s blue class – winner for total pages read among all 6th grade classes
· Mrs. Delaney’s red class - winner for total pages read among all 8th grade classes

Inman Middle and the winners will be receiving their awards during halftime during the Georgia Tech Women’s Basketball game on Dec. 16, 2012.

The annual Georgia Tech Women’s Basketball Jacket 2 Jacket Reading Program encourages elementary and middle school aged children in Georgia to read regularly and promotes reading at all levels. The students have one month to read as many pages as they can during the course of the competition.

To learn more, please visit http://www.ramblinwreck.com/sports/w-baskbl/Jacket2Jacket.html.

Support APS Schools During the Barnes & Noble Book Fair

 

Please support APS schools during the month of December at their Barnes & Noble in-store bookfairs at the Edgewood Retail District (217 Caroline Street Atlanta, GA 30307).

Educator discounts may be used on all eligible purchases during the book fair and Barnes & Noble members may use their membership discount on all eligible purchases. In-store supporters of the book fair must present a validbook fair voucher or mention participation in the book fair at the register prior to the transaction for their purchases.

You can shop in-store or online.

Online supporters shop throughwww.bn.com/bookfair, and are required to enter the valid book fair Event ID Number provided below in the designated field found on the payment page during checkout in order for their purchase to count towards the online book fair.

·December 8th: South Atlanta High School (Book fair Event ID Number = 10936375)

·December 9th: Grady High School (Book fair Event ID Number = 10879203)

·December 14th: Whitefoord Elementary School (Book fair Event ID Number = TBD)

·December 15th: Benteen Elementary School (Book fair Event ID Number = 10936367)

One fair will also be held at the Camp Creek Location:

December 8th: Young Middle School

Stay up to date on additional book fair events by visiting: http://www.atlantapublicschools.us/Page/34003