NEW BOOKS FOR THE NEW YEAR

After three months of cataloging and processing, the library now has almost 800 books from the proceeds of the Fall 2008 Scholastic Book Fair as well as school district monies. Mrs. Steffen is putting the finishing touches on several of the books so the library is still displaying more new books everyday. Some recent books that have caught the students' attention include the updated NFL Today series (2010 copyright date), American Chillers series, new titles in the Geronimo Stilton series, as well as the most recent offering from Jeff Kinney, Diary of a Wimpy Kid : Dog Days.

The library  staff enjoys seeing the "fever" catch on as students discover the latest treasures found in their library. It's wonderful to see the children in our school become excited about reading and clamoring to get on the "holds" list for the most popular books while checking out what's hot in the library. We continue to hope to inspire the students in grades 3-5 in the Selinsgrove Area School District to make reading a daily part of their lives.

two new reasons to read

On the "Back to School" edition of SAIS library's news page, the library featured its six beanbag chairs that have become a popular spot during a library visit. In order to utilize the beanbag chairs, students must be reading which is one of the best motivators for our students to read. Since the popularity of the library's beanbag chairs has grown, Mrs. Williamson has purchased two more beanbag chairs to encourage reading.  The newest chairs are slightly different as they have backs and are decorated in the best two colors in the world--red (or should it be "read"?) and blue (GO SEALS). Whether it is a rainy indoor recess, book exchange, or coming from class on a pass, reading on the beanbag chairs has become a favorite activity of the third, fourth, and fifth graders at Selinsgrove Area Intermediate School.

getting ready for the 2010 author visit

We are anxiously waiting for our scheduled author visit with Mr. Michael Dooling on Friday, February 18, 2010.  Mr. Dooling is the author and illustrator of nonfiction and fiction books focusing on history. Mr.  Dooling will be visiting with the K-2 students on Thursday, February 18 and then will be a guest at the Intermediate School the following day.

A typical author visit at SAIS involves three grade-level assemblies in the LGI interspersed with the author meeting with students who have purchased his/her books in a private autographing/photo session. In order to prepare for the author visit, Mrs. Williamson will be researching the prices and availabilities of Mr. Dooling's books. A letter detailing the prices of each available title  will be sent home after the New Year. Be watching for the letter to come and please note the deadline for ordering books. Many times titles go out of stock indefinitely soon after the publisher has been contacted, so we want to order the books as quickly as possible so students are able to purchase the books in which they are interested.

Mr. Dooling was a featured author at the Intermediate School five years ago and we thoroughly enjoyed him. We know that his presentation will be just as engaging as he was when he visited with us in 2005.