April 2020

Hello Leary Lions!  Wow, do I miss everyone!!  This is certainly an interesting time we find ourselves in.  I hope you and your families are doing well, staying safe and practicing social distancing.  I also hope you're enjoying doing some learning in a new way.  Remember, it is important to continue with your reading, and you can do that in many different formats.  I will post some valuable websites that you may want to check out (just click on the picture).  I hope you find these useful.  More than anything else, know that we, at Leary, are here for you to help in any way we can.  I am already looking forward to the day we can be back together again at our wonderful school!  - Mrs. Knodel

Here is a wonderful, brand new picture book you can share with your younger children.  It explains Covid-19 in terms they will understand.  Just click on the book here:

Free Audio Stories and EBooks:

	Check out Amazon Audible for free streaming of books and audio stories.
	Free Children's Stories is a great website that allows you to customize stories by age and genre.
	The Fraser Valley Regional Library is offering free, online, e-card sign up to everyone that will give instant access to all of their resources.
	Storyline Online is a great place to listen to a variety of picture books being read aloud.  New ones are always being added.
	With Epic Books, you can access a HUGE digital library for kids 12 and under, complete with learning videos, quizzes and more.
	At the Scholastic website, you can discover all sorts of literacy activities, organized by grade, that you can do together at home.  A hilight is "Virtual Book Fests" with some of your favourite authors.
	Enjoy a curated, ad-free collection of animated read-alouds.  Lots of enjoyable titles hereat Vooks.
	The Tumblebook library is a great one to check out because of the options of great graphic novels and non-fiction too.  Please use username: sd33 and password: reads

Readalouds and Workshops from some of your favourite authors and illustrators:

	Discover the Wizarding World of Harry Potter right from home.  Such an awesome website by J. K. Rowling.
	An awesome site by Dav Pilkey where you can interact with some of his favourite characters like Dog Man and Captain Underpants.  Lots of fun tutorials too.
	Interact with Mo Willems on his YouTube channel called "Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems."  There are lots of episodes up there already and he is adding more.
	Check out favourite poet Shel Silverstein's website for different lessons, activities and drawing tips.
	Stay at home story time with Oliver Jeffers.  Every day, Oliver reads one of his stories and talks a bit more about how it was made.
	Todd Parr, beloved childrens' author, has created "Todd TV", based on some of his best picture books.  Your little ones will love this.
	Mac Barnett, author of many favourite picture books and chapter books, does weekly readalouds every Monday on his instagram page.  He is the author of many books like, "How This Book Was Made", "Sam and Dave Dig a Hole" and "Mac B. Spy Kid."

Our librarian:

Mrs. Knodel is our teacher-librarian at F.G. Leary.  She has been a teacher for 25 years and she LOVES books!  She is also the teacher-librarian at Greendale Community School.    Before moving to Chilliwack, she taught in Vancouver, West Vancouver, and even the Philippines!  She is passionate about reading and music, so she thinks F. G. Leary is a great place to be.  She is married and has two sons.  In her free time, she likes to ski, hike, watch her sons play volleyball and travel with her family, have coffee with friends and, of course, read!  Her favourite book she has read recently is "All the Light We Cannot See."

Library schedule:

The library is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  On these days, students come in with their teachers to hear a story, practice library skills and exchange books.  There is also time after lunch on these two days for individual students to come in and exchange books.  Students should be returning their books to school each week on their library day, either to exchange or renew them.

Reading Incentive Programs:

We have 2 different Reading Incentive Programs this year.  For grade 4 and 5 students, we have a new program called "Reading Outside the Box."  Information for this program can be found on the website link.  For Kindergarten to grade 3 students, we have "Strive for 25", where students can read any 25 books of their choosing and turn their form in for a prize.  If you need additional forms, please print one off from the attached link at the bottom of this page.  

One School One Book:

We are excited to kick off our "One School One Book" event later in the year.  Stay tuned in January to find out what this year's exciting readaloud will be!

Reading Link Challenge:

This program is for interested students in Grades 4 and 5.  It is supported by the Fraser Valley Regional Library and it runs from December to April.  This year's titles are:

Hot Picks:

These are the most popular books in the library right now:

#1 - Dog Man: For Whom the Ball Rolls, by Dav Pilkey

​#2 - Diary of a Wimpy Kid: the Getaway, by Jeff Kinney

#3 - Ghosts, by Raina Telgemeier

#4 - Guinness World Records, 2020

​#5 - Happy Pig Day, by Mo Willems

#6 - I Will Take a Nap, by Mo Willems

#7 - Dog Man: Brawl of the Wild, by Dav Pilkey

#8 - Dog Man: Unleashed, by Dav Pilkey

#9 - Can I Play Too, by Mo Willems

#10 - Diary of a Wimpy Kid: the Meltdown, by Jeff Kinney