A Corner of the Cardinal Library

Learn2Listen

2014-04-14T13:58:00.001-07:00

This week, we have been highlighting facts centered around noise induced hearing loss and how we can prevent it. Some ideas are to keep the volume of your headphones to 60% or less, wear earplugs in a loud environment, or try to walk away from loud noises. The Starkey Hearing Foundation sent us sets of earplugs for each student to take home with them. Here is a presentation that highlights the information. And a photo of our students with some of the 500+ sets of earplugs.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1LXAeuBQkkNJgBmEgMXGYsF9c06XZfap2pkw1FSOiHYQ/edit?usp=sharing

Crest View Connects!!

2014-03-07T11:42:00.002-08:00

Crest View Students in 5^th and 6^th grade held video-conference meetings with classrooms in Canada and Vermont this week. They shared snippets of their historical fiction research projects or performed a reader’s theater story. Our kids were able to watch parts of a Shakespearean play and research projects on sea creatures from the other schools. It was fun to watch them connect and realize that students from North America have a lot more similarities than differences. We are hoping to continue an online conversation between these classes through a blog (cvconncects.blogspot.com). We also are already working on other plans to video conference with other classrooms within our district.

Scholastic Book Fair!

2014-01-27T12:30:00.003-08:00

It is time for our Scholastic Book Fair in the Media Center during our CV Parent/Teacher Meetings. I hope you can come to our temporary bookstore and shop for popular books before or after your parent/teacher meeting. All profits benefit our school library. Last year, we purchased comfy beanbags and this year we hope to buy many popular books.

You can see dates, times, and also shop online at http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/homepage/cvelementary.

This year, we also have an extra special shopping event on Thursday, January 30 at 8:30 a.m. Come have Breakfast with a Loved One to see how our morning breakfast routine helps our students start the day positively. We will have coffee, juice, milk, and cinnamon rolls. (Adult breakfast is $2.25) After you eat, stop by the media center for a little book shopping before sending your student to class for the day. We hope this gives parents, grandparents, or other loved ones who don't attend parent/teacher meetings an opportunity to visit CV and shop at the sale. Hope to see you there!

Get Cozy With a Book!

2013-12-20T08:43:00.001-08:00

Last week, our Pre-Kindergarten students invited a family member, special teacher, or friend to read with them in the library. Then they each got to check out their first book from our library. You can see that everyone looked cozy when they were enjoying their book.

We have a little over a week to be at home and relax for our winter break. I hope all of our students get a chance to play in the snow and enjoy a mug of hot cocoa. While you are warming up, grab a corner of a room, a blanket, and a book. I'm hoping to read a book a day over break. Because our CV library will be closed, please take time to go to the public library. Take a morning or afternoon and go to look at all of the books, movies, and music you can check out. If you read something good, comment on this post and we can talk about it from home.

Enjoy the rest and relaxation!

Love,
Mrs. Thompson

Just Another Week in our Library

2013-12-09T09:11:00.002-08:00

The Crest View Media Center has been busy with lots of students enjoying the computers and books in our area. We even had Kindergarten and 1st Grade students using Type to Learn to help them use keyboards more effectively. These Kindergarten students are waiting patiently for their teacher to bring them back to class.

When it's this cold outside, I really like to read in front of my window under a blanket. I feel warm with the sun shining (and my heat on in my house). I can read stories set in tropical places and imagine the warmth of the sun and sand. I love how books can help me escape to a much more exciting place. We have lots of new books in our library right now, I'm excited to recommend them to you when you come in.

Love,
Mrs. Thompson

Book Clubs!

2013-11-20T10:13:00.002-08:00

We are so excited about the turnout of students for our after school book clubs. On Wednesdays, about 12 students stay after school to read books that have not been published yet. We plan to blog our reviews and send them to the publisher. On Thursdays, we have about 20 kids who listen and follow along to books that are part of the MN Student choice awards (named the Maud Hart Lovelace Award). Right now we are reading One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams Garcia. It is fun to watch a group of kids giggle together during the funny parts of the story.

Books Books Books!

2013-10-15T08:56:00.001-07:00

The last couple of weeks have been all about books. We have received many new books in our library, the iPads have been deployed to classrooms and kids have access to lots of eBooks, and kids are reading in their classrooms and in the library.

A highlight of my year is always going to the Minnesota Educational Media Organization (MEMO) Conference. This is a chance for media specialists, technology teachers, and librarians to gather and share the best teaching practices in our field. The weekend always includes a speech from an author. This year, the author was Mary Casanova. She has written many books and two of her recent books, The Day Dirk Yeller Came to Town and the Klipfish Code, are nominees in our 2014 MN Student Choice Awards. She spoke about her writing process, what her life is like living in northern Minnesota, and about new books she is working on. I had just read the Klipfish Code so it was interesting to hear her talk about how she researched WWII by going to Norway, visiting museums, and interviewing several people who lived during that time.

We have had an Usborne Book Fair in our library during Parent/Teacher meetings. We are hoping to earn about $600 in free books for the library. We already have a long list of books we want to buy, It has been really fun to watch the saleslady talk to our students about new books that they have never seen before. It will be more fun to talk to them after they read the books to see how they liked them.

This week is a short week and I am hopeful that I will get to curl up with a good book over our long weekend. I have 3 Maud Hart Lovelace nominees reserved on my Nook from the public library plus a new series from Usborne that I have been dying to read. Next week, Mrs. McNamara and I will start teaching Digital Citizenship/Cyberbullying lessons to our 5th and 6th grade. It's going to be a busy time preparing and teaching some of the most important lessons I teach all year. You can see the materials we will be using to teach at this website:

What are you going to read over our little break?

Love,
Mrs. Thompson

CATs CATs Everywhere!

2013-09-30T07:31:00.000-07:00

Last week, many students at Crest View practiced looking books up in our online library catalog and filled out CAT forms to demonstrate that they understood the process. C is for Call number, A is for Author, and T is for Title. After the students searched for books that interest them, they went to find them on the shelf. I was extremely impressed at how quickly many students finished this task independently.

The media center was also an energetic hub for reading. Our students are loving the comfy bean bags and rockers that we have in the library this year. A highlight was the Kindergarten/4th grade buddy classrooms that came in to read together. Each Kindergarten student was also able to check out their first book from the Cardinal Library.

We had a great turnout for public library night at the Zane Avenue Brooklyn Park Library. The librarians prepared a scavenger hunt, prizes, library cards, and fun. Ms. Hartman kept many students entertained with her lively read-alouds. We thank all of the families and CV staff who attended.

Last week was such a great week, I don't know how we are going to top it. The students will be finishing learning about the library catalog and younger students will listen to a few stories. We are also excited to introduce the 6th grade class to the new social studies lessons that are only offered online. I'm excited for the great week ahead!

Love, Mrs. Thompson

Enjoying Our Library

2013-09-24T08:26:00.001-07:00

Last week, so many students really enjoyed using our new library. Books are checked out to students and I know that they are reading. It is so fun to have conversations about books with students in the hallway and in the library. We also have been teaching students how to search the library catalog and we will continue that work this week.

The 2013-14 School Year Begins!

2013-09-16T09:52:00.005-07:00

Welcome back Crest View Cardinals! There are so many changes to the library space this year. New paint, carpet, music, tables, and furniture have transformed the space into a calm place to dream, create, and imagine through books and technology. Here is a link to a one minute slide show of the remodel process. http://safeshare.tv/w/KTEtJGNfcs

The last two weeks have been very eventful in the library! We have been working very hard to get everything ready in order for students to begin using all of the library services. Each class in grades 1-6 has visited the library twice to learn the rules and procedures of checking out books and using technology in our school. They really liked checking out books and sitting in the new bean bag chairs, taking the technology rule quiz using the iPads with socrative.com, and sharing their favorite library rules through video. http://safeshare.tv/w/sgOdpDjTDH

This week, the library will be focused on our youngest students. Each Pre-K and Kindergarten class will be experiencing their first Crest View library story time. It is always so exciting for me to watch their little faces as they see all of the books and computers in the large room. I will also be working very hard behind the scenes to get the iPads ready for classrooms and completing the finishing touches of the library.

I'm not sure I will have time to read anything this week, but if I do it might be The Phoenix Files by Chris Morphew. I am a little afraid to begin, since there are six books in the series and I have a feeling I won't be able to put them down. I miss the days where I could drop everything and read.

CV Summer Literacy Program 2013

2013-08-22T08:58:00.001-07:00

Our summer library program was a huge success. We had 12-20 students each week come for lunch, to check out books and for a special activity. Click the link for a video of photos from the program.

CV Summer Literacy Program 2013 Video

Everyday is Library Day - Even in the Summer!

2013-06-06T10:00:00.000-07:00

Top Five ways to use the Crest View Library in the Summer.

(Click on the blue links for more information)

5. Look at the summer reading list and check out books from the Hennepin County Library.
4. Read Mackin eBooks and Tumblebooks from home. (for login information, email Mrs. Thompson)
3. Visit the student showcase section on this site to see the cool work we did this year.
2. Check out my Reading Blog and comment on books you are reading.
1. Come to the Crest View Summer Program - Tuesdays 1-3 pm from June 18th-August 6th.

Have a great summer! I look forward to reuniting in the fall!

Love,
Mrs. Thompson

This week in the LMC: Jun 3-7

2013-06-03T07:39:00.005-07:00

How is this the last week of school already!? I don't know about you, but I am dreaming of sitting on my patio in the morning with a book while my daughter takes a morning nap everyday this summer.

This week, the library staff is getting everything ready to clear out of the library and computer lab so workers can come in this summer to paint and put in new carpet. It is going to look like a whole new library when you return in the fall! We have lots of extra plans in the works as well.

Please continue to bring in your library books if you haven't already. We are assessing fines each day. Students will not receive a yearbook until the fines are paid for or the books are returned. If a family has questions or concerns about paying the fine, please call or email me to work something out.

Have a great last week of school!

Love, Mrs. Thompson

This week in the LMC: May 13-17

2013-05-14T11:36:00.001-07:00

Can you believe it? This is already the last week for students to check out books in the library! We have had a great year of reading and I am looking forward to looking at our numbers for how many books kids checked out this year. I will report that information, along with the kids and classes who checked out the most books on the last day of school.

Because students are done checking out books from the library, it gives the library staff a chance to double check to make sure all of the books are in the right place and all students have returned them. Then we are going to be boxing up all of our books to get ready for the new carpet we are getting in the media center this summer. The library is going to look very different when you return!

I will be sending notices home in the coming weeks to make sure that all books are returned or fines paid for. Students cannot receive their yearbook until all fines are paid. Look hard for those books, students!

Read a book outside in the spring weather!

Love,
Mrs. Thompson

This week in the LMC: April 29-30

2013-04-30T07:47:00.001-07:00

We are excited to try something new this week with a few classes. Mega Conference Junior is a day of scheduled video conferences put on by kids. Our classes will watch some of the presentations from around the world in our own media center. It will be cool to see what kinds of things we learn.

We are gearing up for some cool lessons next week using technology. Until then, read something!

Love,
Mrs. Thompson

This week in the LMC: April 15-19

2013-04-14T11:02:00.000-07:00

What is the deal with all of this snow and cold? I hope you had a little time to make (hopefully) one last snowman or snow angel this weekend. I made time in my cozy house to drink a hot drink and read a book while sitting under a blanket.

This week is very exciting! We are getting ready for cultural night and students are finishing up research on their countries. I have been working with 2nd grade and 6th grade work on China and Egypt presentations. Cultural night is on Thursday and my mom and aunt are coming to speak Swedish in the library. Make sure you come and say hello!

Kindergarten is still working on learning how to use shelf markers to look at books on our library shelves. When they listen to directions, they do a great job and are excited about the books they can pick.

I am super excited to go on the field trip to the Science Museum of Minnesota with the 2nd graders this week.

Find a new tech tool this week. Have fun with it!

Love, Mrs. Thompson

This week in the LMC: April 8-12, 2013

2013-04-08T07:18:00.000-07:00

Hello Spring!

Now that the sidewalks and ground is wet, make sure you are keeping your library books in backpacks when you go to and from school. We want to keep our library books in the best shape possible so many students can enjoy them.

April means MCA testing. We start this week with the 3rd and 4th grade reading tests. Our students have been practicing and are ready to show the state what they know. Testing is in the computer lab, so the lab is closed in the mornings this week.

I will be working with 2nd grade and 6th grade on getting ready for Cultural night. These students will be using Culture Grams to look up information on their countries.

Finally, April is Poetry Month. Start looking for your favorite poem for "Poem in your Pocket Day." Watch for details in the next 2 weeks.

Have a great week!

Love,
Mrs. Thompson

This week in the LMC: April 1-5, 2013

2013-03-31T11:55:00.000-07:00

Welcome Back Staff and Students!

I hope everyone had a relaxing break! I spent most of my week off of school organizing my messy house. It was hard work, but it feels good to be done. I was hoping to read more books, but I was only able to read one. It is a book written for adults called Focus about a woman who lost her eyesight unexpectedly. It made me think about how important my eyesight is for me. I think of all of the things that would be different if I couldn't see.

This week, the big event in the library is that we are teaching our Kindergarten students how to use shelf markers and take books from the story box. Up until now, we have had books on tables for our youngest students to choose from. Finally, they will get the chance to choose any picture book they want during their library time. It is always fun to see how excited they get to check out books.

This week, we will also be working really hard to make sure that ALL students follow directions in the library.

Be Safe: I can walk and keep my body in control.
Be Responsible: I can bring my books back on time.
Be Respectful: I can follow my teacher's directions the first time.

I am looking forward to the weather warming up and chatting about books with you!

Love,
Mrs. Thompson

This week in the LMC: March 25-29

2013-03-25T08:02:00.000-07:00

Out Reading!

I am enjoying my spring break. I hope you are, too! See you back at school on April 1st!

Love, Mrs. Thompson

This Week in the LMC: March 18-22

2013-03-17T12:53:00.000-07:00

Can you believe this is the last week before Spring Break? I have so many books I want to read, but I am setting a goal of reading three.

This week, I am excited to do a sorting activity on Kidspiration with Mrs. Curtis's 2nd graders, edit a fast CVTV, read to Kindergarten, and most importantly - have RIF DAY!

RIF stands for Reading is FUNdamental. It is a special program funded by our District 279 Foundation that allows each kid to choose a free book. Each class will come in on Wednesday to the library and choose a book from the tables that we have purchased for them. We do our best to get titles kids will love to read. I know all of our students will be excited to have a new book to read over Spring Break.

Be Safe, Responsible, and Respectful while you are away from school and we will see you in April!

Love, Mrs. Thompson

This week in the LMC: March 11-15

2013-03-11T08:01:00.001-07:00

Oh my gosh!

I am LOVING the 3rd book in the Matched Series. Reached by Ally Condie has got me totally hooked. I know I talked about this a little bit last week and I am really enjoying the journey I am on with Xander, Cassia and Ky. It's the kind of book that I can't stop reading, but I don't really want it to be done either. I am excited to share this and other good books at our staff 30 Book Club Challenge meeting this week.

A few of our CV teachers have been reading and keeping track of their books on a chart and meeting once a month to talk about them. Our goal is to read 30 books before the end of the school year. I know some students are doing this, too! It is really fun to talk about good (and bad) books with friends!

This week, Mrs. Seppala's 6th graders will be beginning to blog with the class from New York that we videoconferenced with last week. It was really interesting to hear what it is like to live in their town. They have high school students who drive their snowmobiles to school!

Many of our classes are continuing to use Moby Math and Tumblebooks on the iPads in their room. It is really great to see them being used in classrooms.

Have a great time this week. It is getting warmer and warmer!

Love,
Mrs. Thompson

This Week in the LMC: March 4-8th

2013-03-06T13:15:00.002-08:00

Wow! I am late writing this! We were so lucky to get a snow day yesterday. I got to spend the whole morning reading. I finally finished Crossed by Ally Condie. It is the second book in the Matched trilogy. The trilogy is a dystopian story about how the Society controls everything its Citizens know, eat, and do. The weirdest part for me is that a long time ago the Society decided that there would only be 100 songs, 100 poems, 100 stories, 100 works of art, and members of the Society never learn how to write. There are no pencils and the paper that comes out of printers desinigrates after a short amount of time. Why do you think the Society wanted to do this?

The second book, Crossed, for me was really hard to read. It was honestly boring for me. I told Mrs. Liegakos (who is also reading it) that I felt like it took me forever to read it... "Love love love, blah blah blah, Cassia wants to find Ky, Ky wants to find Cassia, blah blah blah". At the very end of the book they finally started talking about the Society again so I am excited to read the 3rd and final book to see what this Society is all about. This middle part of the story is often kind of boring and in a trilogy sometimes it is the whole middle book! However, in my experience, if you have the perseverance to get through it (especially since the details are usually important somewhere), you will be rewarded greatly at the end with an awesome story. I am also excited to be done reading the 2nd book, because the author will be answering questions from readers on Goodreads next Tuesday. If you have a question for me to ask, I will be happy to and share the answer with you - Just let me know.

Mrs. Seppala's 6th grade class did something really cool today. We had a live Videoconference with a 6th grade class in Boonville, NY. We learned a lot about them and how different their town is. We saw a play they had prepared about Pirates. We shared with them a presentation of a day in the life at CV in MN. We are hoping to continue the conversation and connection through a blog or wiki this spring.

Students have an extra day off on Friday. I hope you find something good to read!

Love,
Mrs. Thompson

This week in the LMC: Feb 25- March 1

2013-02-22T09:11:00.000-08:00

It's the last week of I Love to Read Month! We will celebrate by having a Cloud 9 reading day on Thursday! I know I'm on cloud 9 when I'm reading! Teachers will have students wear their jammies and bring a stuffed animal for special read to self time in their classrooms. I can't think of anything more fun than snuggling and reading!!!

iPads will be arriving in classrooms on Friday this week. We have worked very hard to learn the rules and I know everyone is excited to start using them daily.

2nd Grade is finishing up their dinosaur projects, and I am starting to plan for 5th grade colonies research.

I was so busy this weekend, I didn't have any time to read. It makes me sad, but hopefully I'll get to read on Cloud 9 day, too. I am wearing jammies for sure!

Stay warm!
Mrs. Thompson

This week in the LMC: Feb 19-22

2013-02-19T07:35:00.002-08:00

Dinosaurs are taking over 2nd Grade! We begin our dinosaur research project where our students get to use the computers to research a dinosaur and then make a presentation for their class. Every year, we get some great digital drawings and facts about many different dinosaurs.

Did you get a chance to read anything over our long weekend? I didn't read any books, but I did read part of a magazine. Remember everything you read counts as reading minutes. Even newspapers, ebooks, and magazines. You don't have to practice reading with only books.

We will have a few more classes learn how to use the iPads this week and hopefully by the end of next week they will be in most classrooms. If there are any apps that you think I should add, let Mrs. Thompson know. I will only be adding new apps on Wednesday mornings.

Enjoy the 4 day week!

Mrs. Thompson

This week in the LMC - Feb 11-15

2013-02-12T13:38:00.004-08:00

The iPads are in students' hands!!

We are working this week on teaching our students how to use the iPads. We talked about being safe, being respectful, and being responsible with them. After each class does the initial rules and training, the iPads will take their residence in the classrooms.

These pictures show just how much fun they were having!

I can't wait to show you some of the projects they will create!

Love, Mrs. Thompson