E. Rivers Media

I'm excited to start another school year as your media specialist! I can't wait to see everyone and hear about all the great books you've read over the summer! I am looking forward to seeing everyone for checkout and media classes.

Mrs. Boston

Students are already taking AR tests this year to earn prizes! As a general rule of thumb, all students should be reading each night to develop great reading skills while expanding their vocabulary. When students finish reading a book they can take an AR test on any of the school computers, ipads or Chromebooks!

Schools all across APS are competing in Race2Read! Dr. Carstarphen would like every student to log their reading minutes using the BeanStack App found in MyBackPack - https://launchpad.classlink.com/atlanta. Use the following login information:

Login: Student Network Username

Password: race2read

Students will earn badges as they log their minutes. End of the year prizes will be awarded for top Race2Read Readers! Ms. Boston will be showing students how to log their reading in the BeanStack App in her upcoming media classes.

According to Scripts Media (2017), "Starting in kindergarten, if a student reads 20 minutes a day at home, they will hear 1.8 million words per year. They will have read for 851 hours by 6th grade and on standardized tests, they will likely score better than 90% of their peers."

The article goes on to say how reading out loud helps the brain make connections, reading makes you smarter, expands students' knowledge of the outside world, and outlines the benefits of reading as a family.

I hope this year you will continue to take the time to read with your child/children, making it a special time to bond and build great memories.

https://www.wcpo.com/brand-spotlight/how-reading-20-minutes-a-day-impacts-your-child-amazon-kindle

This year Mrs. Boston is planning on having a Technology Club during lunch. Be looking for a flyer if your child is interested in joining the Tech Club. The goal is for each Tech Club participant to produce a Technology Project to enter into this year's Technology Fair in January, 2020.

Mrs. Boston and Mrs. Reed will be coaching the Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl team of 4th & 5th graders again this year. If you know a child who loves to read chapter books and would like to try out for the team please contact Mrs. Boston, pboston@atlanta.k12.ga.us.

Thanks to a partnership with the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System, all Atlanta Public School students are patrons of the public library! Click here: http://www.afpls.org/class

1. There is no card involved. Students use their APS username and password.

2. There are no late fees.

3. If students lose a book, the fee is a writing assignment.

Class Pass allows the following checkouts:

Print checkouts:

50 books, 10 CDs, 5 DVDs

Digital checkouts:

Hoopla - 10 downloads per month

Overdrive - 10 items every 30 days

Axis 360 - 5 titles per month

Don't forget about the upcoming Decatur Book Festival on August 30th-September 1st. There are many children book authors to see at the Children's Stage at Decatur Recreation Center. Check out the website https://www.decaturbookfestival.com/ to check out the schedule! I hope to see many of you there.

Paula Boston, Media Specialist

Email: pboston@atlanta.k12.ga.us
Website: www.eriversmediacenter.weebly.com
Location: 8 Peachtree Battle Avenue, N.W.
Phone: 404-802-7066
Twitter: @paulaboston10