Where did this year go?

It is truly unbelievable that we only have two weeks left of the 2011-2012 school year!

I have to say that this has been by far one of the most enjoyable years! I can't pin point one specific thing that made this year so great, it's just been a combination of the students, the activities that we worked on, the enthusiasm the students showed in the activities, the awesome group of people I work with oooorrrr it might be all that combined with me finally having my own space?!

I'm going to allow some of the students to tell everyone what they enjoyed most about our class this year. I don't want to offend any librarians but I must admit I don't consider myself a typical librarian. The term librarian seems to be kind of an archaic term.

I LOVE using technology with the students and incorporating it in any way possible! Here's a little bit about what we've done this year in The Media Center!

 Jehvion - I enjoyed creating our Black History Project! I learned a lot when I researched my topic about the Civil Rights Movement. My topic was about Emmett Till. I took all the information I learned about Emmett Till and the horrible things that happened to him and created a power point.

Jessica - My favorite thing about coming to the Media Center this year was when we created our power point after we researched where we'd like to spend our Spring Break. We got to research different places all over the entire world and then choose a place. You can take a vacation anywhere on the internet!

Halie - I liked learning about QR Codes! Ever since we learned about them I've seen them everywhere! We helped created videos or book trailers so that they can have QR Codes created for them and then the QR Code was put on the library book. It's really cool to scan a QR code and watch the book trailer about the book!

Acacia - I liked making book trailers for some of the library books. We used the ipods to take pictures of the books and record ourselves reading the book. Then we will make a QR code for the book trailer so when the QR Code is scanned the student can learn about the book or have it read to them. Kahlil - I liked that we were always using technology to create projects. I have learned a lot about different free sites that we can use to create a lot of cool projects.

KeShaun - I liked learning about all the things I can do when I make a power point slide show. I like using all the animations and transitions.

MyKael - I liked learning how to use my email account. I also like how Ms. Kearbey would send us assignments in an email and we could do them and send them back to her.

Those are just a few of the responses I received when I asked what they enjoyed about coming to the Media Center this year. I still have areas I'd like to make improvements and things I want to learn so I can share that with the students. I plan on using my summer to find more web 2.0 freebies out there. :)

Third and Fourth grade Adventures

The third and fourth graders are having a great time working on their Veterans Day webquest! They are quickly becoming pros while they navigate to various websites to find their answers! When they have completed their research they will each create a digital project!

I am so exciting to see what they will come up with!

Today they had a very special message from Uncle Sam!

September Already!

Can you believe that we will actually be in the month of September by the end of this week? I don't know about you but it feels like August flew by with lightning speed!

We've been busy in the library!
Kindergarten and First grade students have been discussing the elements of fiction. A couple of the stories we've read are The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister and A Pocketful of Kisses by Audrey Penn. Stop by our school library or the Daviess County Public library to check out these books or other exciting books to read with your child.







Second grade students have been discussing Internet safety and learning about the vast amount of information on the Internet. We've talked about how it is very important not to give out any personal information to anyone online such as where we go to school, where we live as well as, not sending pictures of ourselves to anyone we don't know.







Third grade students have spent some time becoming familiar with our new online AR program. They are doing a great job! We have also been reading digital books online. They love integrating technology with everyday tasks!







Fourth grade students are gearing up for a big project! Fourth grade students are going to create informational videos for Kindergarten students via StoryBoard3! We can't wait to share our final projects with you all! We are still in the beginning stages right now. Students are working on their theme and completing their story board templates before we begin working on the laptops. We had to discuss a very important topic that is one of those necessary evils...COPYRIGHT. We all have a better idea of what it is and why we can't just take someone's words, pictures or ideas and use them without giving the original author credit.





Some of the great ideas they have come up with for their stories are How to wait in the breakfast line appropriately and How to be a successful student at Cravens Elementary. Another part they are thrilled about is getting to use the flip cameras for the illustrations/video in their story. They are very excited about presenting these to the Kindergarten classes! I think you are going to be amazed at what they can do!





Our Book Fair begins this Friday, September 2nd! It will run through Friday, September 9th. It will be open from 7:30-2:45 daily. In addition to the regularly scheduled time, the Book Fair will be open early on September 8 for all the grandparents that come to have breakfast with their student! We will also have the Book Fair open before and after the 3rd and 4th grade Music Program on Thursday evening. Book Fair will open at 5! Come check out some great books for your child!
If you would like to volunteer,please let me know! You can also check out Cravens' Book Fair page at http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/homepage/cravens

This is gonna be a GREAT year!

Library Media Center Welcome back! For those of you who don’t know me allow me to introduce myself. I am Ms. Kearbey. This school year marks my 14th year at Cravens! I have taught Kindergarten, First grade, Second grade and Fourth grade. I absolutely LOVE what I do! I don’t feel like I ever have to go to “work”! I’ve been the Library Media Specialist for 6 years. If you haven’t heard the latest news about our Library, let me be the first to tell you that our Library has relocated! The library actually has walls now!  Be sure to come check out our Luau in the Library the next time you are in the building! There are so many exciting things that will be happening in the Library this year! Your child will experience a variety of activities in the Media Center such as interactive story time, exploring the various genres of literature (that may sound boring but believe me it won’t be! ), the use of technology like laptops, iPads, and iPods just to name a few! These are exciting times for our students at Cravens and I can’t wait to get started! We also have a new web based AR program! This means that ALL books that are AR books are available to our students! If you want to see if a book you have at home is an AR book all you need to do is go to http://www.arbookfind.com/ . Soon, you will also be able to see your child’s AR report from home with an Internet connection. When the Home Connect is completely set up, I will send home information on how to check your child’s AR report from home. Through Home Connect you can also sign up to receive an email each time your child takes an AR test. How awesome is that? I will also be updating the Library Media Center blog. You can keep up with what’s going on in the library at this link http://jeaninekearbey.blogspot.com/ Be sure to sign up to follow the blog too!  If your child is a 4th grader he/she will visit the library once a week for an hour. Students in Kindergarten – third grade will visit the library twice a week for 30 minutes each time. The library is open before school at 7:30 for book check outs and AR testing. We have an open library policy which means if your child needs to return/check out a book they can come when it’s a good time for their teacher. Look for information soon in your child’s folder about Open Library. It will start on September 14th from 3-4pm. Third and fourth grade students may stay without an adult as long as they behave responsibly. Students in Kindergarten – Second grade can only stay if they are with an adult. During this time the students can read AR books and take AR tests. Students can earn rewards for their AR points when I have the AR store during their library class. We will also have three book fairs this school year. If you are interested in volunteering to help out during the book fair, please let me know. Our first book fair is scheduled for September 2 – 9th. If I can be of any help to your or your child please let me know. If you need to reach me, you may call the school at 686-1010 and leave a message. I will return your call as soon as possible. Email is the quickest way to reach me. My email address is jeanine.kearbey@owensboro.kyschools.us

February

It's already February and we have been experiencing winter in full effect! Last week was the first week since we returned from Christmas break that we have made it through a whole week without a snow day!

We just wrapped up another successful Book Fair! Thanks to all the students, parents and teachers for making it a success!

In the library this month we will reward those students who have been reading and have earned A R points with an 80% or better.

It is also Black History Month! It is important for all of to consider all the great contributions that African Americans have made to make our country the best in the world!

We will also read stories about Abraham Lincoln and George Washington in honor of their birthdays being in February as well as President's Day.

Of course, we can't forget Valentines Day!

Keep reading to earn those A R points! The more you read the smarter you get!

The Countdown!

It's about that time!!!

Who loves to school supply shop? ME!!!

I hope everyone has had an awesome summer! I spent most of my time at the pool with my 8 year old twins! They are ready to get back to school to see all their friends.

I've been working a little bit in the library this week getting all the new books that we ordered over the summer ready for you to check out! I am so excited to share all the new books with you all!

As of today we only have 13 days until the first day of school.

Check back soon for more updates from me and Mr. Wiggles!

It's that time of year!

It's that time of year when we all get Spring Fever!

The sun is shining and the birds are singing! Finally the children are able to enjoy a little recess each day!

Here are a few dates to keep in mind as our school year comes to a close:

Last Open Library date is May 12th (We will have a guest from the public library during this Open Library time)

Last class for library will be Thursday, May 13th.

Book Fair is May 17th -21st (No scheduled library classes)

All books are due May 21st.

Also we will have AR table for those students who earned it.

It will be this Friday in the library.

As of this morning the students at Cravens have earned a total of 11,770.7 A R points!

That is AWESOME!