December in the library

Just a quick update about some things happening in the library...
We received two new shelving units which are on wheels which makes them very useful both in the library and within the school. Right now, one is full of seasonal/holiday books but after the holiday break, we are going to load one with folk tales and fairy tales and the other one might hold seasonal titles or topics related to school initiatives.

The Primary Science Club planted an amaryllis bulb on November 16th. It is almost ready to bloom! The students have been checking in out regularly to see when the blossom will burst open!

Today four primary classes (divisions 7, 8, 9 and 10) compared fiction and nonfiction books by first looking at gingerbread cookbooks and looking for nonfiction text features. They noticed photographs, step-by-step instructions and captions. We then read the story Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett and the students discussed how the two books were the same and how they were different. Many students commented that they were both about gingerbread, icing and candies. Some students commented that in the story, the gingerbread baby talks and that there are other characters such as the cat and the mother and the father. Some of the students also noticed that the story had a "world" or setting in which it took place and that there was a problem and a solution in the story. 

A big thank you to the library monitors who have helped check in and shelve all the returned books this week. Our library is looking very full again!

Enjoy your holidays with your families!

Primary Science Club

Since the beginning of November, students from grades 1-3 have been meeting in the library from 12:30-1 for Primary Science Club. Each week we have been looking at the science behind some of the toys we play with. Our first week together, we investigated the effects of friction on spinning tops:

The next week we investigated the effects of different forces (pushes and pulls) on toy cars/jeeps:

Next, we investigated the laws of motion and experimented with Newton's cradle 

and created our own version with marbles:

And this week, we investigated the effects of gravity on balls and the arc that occurs when throwing balls. We made our own version of traditional wooden cup and ball games:

Our last session together will be Tuesday, December 7th in the library!

Division 2 and Arthur Slade

Division 2 walked down to the Brighouse Branch of the Richmond Public Library to participate in an author event. Arthur Slade, award-winning, sarcastic Canadian author. He shared many of his books including the book about when a cursed family got struck with lightning (Jolted). This story was inspired by a true story of when Arthur Slade's cows got struck by lightning.

Arthur Slade shared about his interview with Dracula for his book Monsterology and talked about many of his books.

He showed a video book trailer about his new series, The Hunchback Assignments. You can view the video HERE or watch it below.

Check out Arthur Slade's books in our library!

Welcome to the Blair library blog!

Welcome to the Blair Elementary Library blog. Division 2 (grades 6 and 7) have created this blog to share news, events and book reviews from the library. Blair Elementary is a school in Richmond, BC, Canada. Our school mascot is a dragon, hence the name of our blog is a mash-up of our school name Blair and our mascot, Dragons....Blagons!

Check back regularly for updates!