Congratulations, December Schools of the Month!

Dunbar Elementary - Students at Dunbar Elementary who share a passion for reading have a book club that meets weekly so members can discuss various books. The students are currently culminating the reading of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by gathering together to watch “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” to compare and contrast the book and the movie.

Students will next read James and the Giant Peach, a book by the same author, Ronald Dahl, in order to complete an author study.

Colonial Middle - Students in the Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) program at Colonial Middle School have been earning honors for their artistic efforts this semester.

One hundred Colonial Middle School students submitted stories to the“Studentales” publication. The process of creating, writing, and illustrating a book was both rewarding and fun for Mrs. Allen's, Mrs. Epps' and Mrs. Black's classes.

Congratulations, November Schools of the Month!

South Park Elementary - South Park Elementary School recently held a Family Literacy Night to encourage parents and students to read together. Dr. Cynthia Gingold and her committee served cookies and milk to students in their pajamas while reading stories aloud to them.

The teachers who assisted Gingold demonstrated strategies for parents to use when helping their children read at home.

First grade teachers Cathy Wiggins and Gwen Dulin came prepared for South Park Elementary School’s Family Literacy Night. The teachers dressed in their pajamas and read stories to students, while the students enjoyed cookies and milk.

To celebrate Children's Book Week, South Park students dressed up as their favorite book characters. Prizes were given for the most original costumes

South Park Elementary School recently hosted a Heavenly Hats Day. Heavenly Hats is a non-profit organization that raises money to provide hats for children who lose their hair due to cancer treatments. Many students and teachers paid a dollar each for the privilege of wearing their favorite hat to school, with the money going to the Heavenly Hats Foundation

Cypress Middle School - Cypress Middle School participated in The Big Read Literacy Event with Rhodes College. Students used the book To Kill a Mockingbird as a centerpiece for their literary studies. Each eighth grade student received a copy of the book and a reading guide . The school hosted a panel discussion about the book for parents and staff. All parents in attendance received a copy of the book.

Westwood High School - Westwood started the Drop Everything and Write program last school year, with the support of Principal Tommie McCarter. During the 30-minute writing session, students write a persuasive essay from a prompt the teacher gives at the beginning of the activity.

The English faculty initiated Drop Everything and Write because they wanted another tool to help students prepare for the statewide writing assessment test. The bi-weekly activity, modeled after the widely used Drop Everything and Read program, ended last year after the writing assessment test was administered.

This year, the English teachers wanted to take the program even farther. Classroom teachers now create their own prompts, based on what their students are studying during the week of the writing activity. This means that students in history class will write about history and students in science class will write about science. This encourages students to think more about the subjects they are studying. Since the activity schedule rotates among different class periods throughout the year, students ultimately will write about several different subjects.

After the activity, the classroom teachers score the essays based on the rubric provided by the English department. The literacy coach reviews the essays to collect data. He then gives the essays to the English teachers, who return them to their students. Because strong writing skills are always needed everywhere, Drop Everything and Write will continue throughout the school year.

Congratulations, October Schools of the Month!

Brookmeade Elementary- Brookmeade Elementary's librarian, Jason Carr, has started the Brookmeade Book Blog to encourage his students to read and share their experiences with great books. The blog allows students to write informal journals about recently-read books. Students may also have the opportunity to record their writing as audio or video. Other students can then read the journals and post comments about the books as well. Teachers at Brookmeade are encouraged to participate and comment on student journals at the same time.

Airways Middle School-has organized a book club. The group of readers is know as the "Bookworms". They will read a variety of genres. The 8th grade members recently read the autobiography of Jack Gantos called "A Hole in My Life". The Bookworms enjoyed the book and engaged in some very deep discussions. The club will meet after-school and enjoy refreshment while talking books.

The Woodale High School Cardinal Book Club participates in public readings at nursing homes, at St. Jude and LeBonheur Children's Hospital, and at various elementary schools. On September 27th, they read to the patients at LeBonheur and sponsored a blood drive at St. Jude where the students wrote a book to persuading the community to donate blood. The Cardinal Book Club will also sponsor several workshops to help students develop reading and writing skills for the Gateway English and TCAP writing tests.

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