Welcome Back!
Welcome back to SHMS! The library has been eagerly awaiting the return of its favorite patrons all summer long! We're excited to kick off the new school year with a bunch of engaging learning activities, fresh programs, and a warm welcome to our new 4th graders! If you've been online lately, you might have noticed some fantastic "Meet the Teacher" graphics. Well, I couldn't resist joining in the creative fun! Mr. Williams here, and I'm a big fan of crafting digital art using apps like Canva, Adobe Express, and, of course, S'more for creating informative newsletters! Get ready for a fantastic year ahead!
Book Fair - Monday, September 18 through Friday, September 22
Excitement's in the air! Brace yourselves for the fantastic Scholastic Book Fair headed our direction (Hooray!). Letting kids pick their very own books ignites their superpowers as readers for life. Oh, and guess what? Every book you snag at the Fair helps our school shine even brighter! Get ready to embark on a reading adventure like never before! 📚🌟
Visit our school's fair website: https://www.scholastic.com/bf/snowhillmiddleschool
Hey there! We could use some extra hands in our middle school library, and we'd love your help! You could help put books back in their spots, set up cool displays, guide students to great reads, and even join in on fun events like book fairs. Being part of our library team makes a big difference for our students and their reading adventures.
Please fill out this survey to let Mr. Williams know you would like to volunteer!
This Year's Library Media Theme is:
"Explore, Dream, Imagine: The SHMS Library, Where Imagineering Takes Flight!"🛩️
Hey parents! Get ready to dive into the awesome stuff happening in our Media Center for your 4th graders! They'll be getting into cool coding and tech skills, learning the ropes of making graphic novels with Pixton, and even trying out Canva for some creative media making. Plus, they'll be working on projects that could be in the WCPS Media Expo, so they'll be showing off their smarts to lots of people. Of course, they'll still be grabbing books to read, and they'll be getting into fun themes for their projects. And guess what? They'll even get to show off their Minecraft skills! There's a bunch of cool things in store for them, so get ready for a super exciting time in the Media Center!
Here's a link to our counties Media Expo! Each year we are proud to have wining projects advance to the county level competition. This past year we celebrate 15 gold and 11 silver level projects! It's never too late to start creating! 🎬📸💻
Welcome to Gifted and Talented at SHMS! This year's theme for GT:
Emerging Sleuths of the Inquiry Institute: Uncovering the Mysteries of Learning.
"Empowering Young Minds, One Clue at a Time."
One of the essential learning activities for 4th and 5th grade will be participating in this year's Sphero Robotic competition. For upper elementary, the competition is "Spies like BOLT." 🕵️♀️🔎
Season 4: Global Challenge - Sphero Goes Incognito
"Calling all spies! Assemble your team, grab your covert gadgets, and rendezvous at BOLT HQ for season four of the Sphero Global Challenge. The BOLT Event will challenge undercover agents of all ability levels to work together to crack five intriguing and innovative Mission Objectives."
Students will use coding skills, teamwork, problem solving, communication and much more to tackle this years mission objectives!
We will also use Breakout Edu to help practice our deductive reasoning skills, an essential skill for all inquiry sleuths! Breakoutedu.com
AND, we may just have to crack open some Sherlock Holmes and Enola Holmes novels to get a sense of where the modern detective story started!
Resources for Gifted and Talented families:
Universal Characteristics of G&T Children
What is the Black-Eyed Susan Book Award?
The Black-Eyed Susan Book Award is a student choice award for the state of Maryland that has been awarded each year since 1992. The award seeks to promote literacy and lifelong reading habits by encouraging students to read quality, contemporary literature.
Reading committees of school and public librarians, and other interested members of the Maryland Association of School Librarians (MASL) meet to determine which books will be nominated and placed on student reading lists.
There are six different reading lists:
- Picture Books,
- Fiction/Nonfiction for
- Grades 3-5
- Grades 6-8, and
- High School
- Graphic Novels for
- Grades 3-5,
- Grades 6-8
My First Day by Phung Nguyen Quang and Huynh Kim Lien (Picture Book)
A visually stunning story of resilience and determination by an award-winning new author-illustrator team, perfect for back to school.
This is no ordinary first journey. The rainy season has come to the Mekong Delta, and An, a young Vietnamese boy, sets out alone in a wooden boat wearing a little backpack and armed only with a single oar. On the way, he is confronted by giant crested waves, heavy rainfall and eerie forests where fear takes hold of him. Although daunted by the dark unknown, An realizes that he is not alone and continues to paddle. He knows it will all be worth it when he reaches his destination--one familiar to children all over the world.
PRAISE
“Enthralling, uplifting: a celebration of everyday heroes’ journeys in the quest for education and learning.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“ A particularly propulsive, cinematic story.” —BookPage, starred review
“A lively journey that’s interesting in its own right…” —The Bulletin, starred review
“Dazzle[s]…. Quang and Liên celebrate the beauty and wealth of the Mekong River.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
