Skype with Author Dori Hillestad Butler

Fifth graders participating in our school book club, Lit Masters, had the special opportunity to Skype with Dori Hillestad Butler, the author of the book that they recently read, The Truth About Truman School.  The Truth About Truman School tells the story of a school that has a problem with cyberbullying.  The book is told through different points of view and ultimately shows how cyberbullying affects multiple characters.  During our Skype visit with Butler, students were able to ask all of their unanswered questions including why she chose to end the story the way that she did and where she got her inspiration for the characters.  Students also were curious about Butler's background, how she felt about writing as a child, and what advice she had for aspiring writers.  It was a special opportunity indeed as these students were able to get inside the mind of the writer of a book that they enjoyed.  View some pictures from our experience below.

A very special thank you goes to Dori Hillestad Butler for taking the time to talk with us and share her passion for writing.

Anti-Bullying Google Hangout with Singer Z LaLa

Yesterday our 5th graders had a surprise visit from World Pop Singer Z LaLa.  Using Google Hangouts, students were able to listen to her anti-bullying message and hear her personal account of how difficult it was to watch her friends being bullied while she was a child.  She urged students to stand up for others if they see bullying occur while also expressing the importance of telling a trusted adult about the bullying.

At the end, students had an opportunity to ask her questions.  Most of them were curious about her singing career and where she lived.  It was an exciting thing to be able to talk one-on-one with a celebrity!

A special thank you to Z LaLa for taking time from her schedule to share her experiences.  Bullying impacts all of us regardless of geographic location, gender, or race.

Take a Google Maps tour of New London!

Students in Mrs. Young's Integrated Technology classes are partnering with schools in Saskatchewan, Canada, Sweden, and California to discuss technology related issues and collaborate together on various projects.  To help our new friends get to know us and New London better, Integrated Technology students created a Google Map tour of New London using Google Maps Engine Lite.  Classes brainstormed and researched historic places, fun things to do, and New London parks, and they added each point of interest to our class map with a short description.

Go on a virtual tour of New London by visiting our customized Google Map.  Click on the locations listed to the left of the map to tour the New London places highlighted by our students. 

Let the Battle Begin!

NLMSIS get ready to battle...about books, that is!  All students are invited to participate in the state Battle of the Books competition, organized by the Wisconsin Educational Media and Technology Association.  Students participating in the battle are required to form a team of 2-4 students, and then as a team read all of the books from one of the lists below.  Fifth and sixth graders may choose to join either the elementary division or the middle division.  From now until February, the team's job is to read, read, read!  Then, in February all teams will meet to compete in a school-wide battle.  The winning team from each division will represent our school at the state competition. 

If you are interested in learning more about Battle of the Books, plan on attending an introductory meeting in the library on Monday, November 4 during Bulldog Time.  See Mrs. Young in the library with any questions.

Here are the lists for each division:

Elementary Division

Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix

The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

The Battle of Gettysburg, 1863 (I Survived series #7) by Lauren Tarshis

Big Mean Mike by Michelle Knudsen

Big Red by Jim Kjelgaard

City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds

Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel by Jeff Kinney

Escape!: The Story of the Great Houdini / Sid Fleischman

Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert O’Brien

No Talking by Andrew Clements

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

Press Here by Herve Tullet

Stick Dog by Tom Watson

This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen

The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis

Wonder by R. J. Palacio

Middle Division

The Battle of Gettysburg, 1863 by Lauren Tarshis - I Survived Series #7 (GA Int)

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett

Chomp by Carl Hiaasen

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cracker!: The Best Dog in Vietnam by Cynthia Kadohata

Dark Life by Kat Falls

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

Deep Zone by Tim Green (GA MS)

Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen

Ice Story: Shackleton’s Lost Expedition by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel

Ida B--: And Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World by Katherine Hannigan

Legend by Marie Lu (GA MS)

Middle School: Get Me Out of Here by James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts (GA MS)

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate (GA Int)

Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper

Smile by Raina Telgemeier (GA Int)

Stick Dog by Tom Watson (GA Int)

Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz

NLMSIS Students Care about Literacy!

Wow!  We are amazed at your generous spirit.  Not only did our school have its most successful Scholastic Book Fair ever, but you also donated an astounding extra $563.28 to Scholastic's All for Books program!  With your donations, we were able to buy extra books for the library, and Scholastic matches what we collected and donates that amount to schools in need.  How awesome is that?!  Here is just a snapshot of the All for Books money collected and the books that your donations purchased for the library.  Do you see any of your favorites?

 

A special thank you goes out to the following DEAR groups who exceeded our expectations.  

Mrs. Keach's class  who donated $121.77

Mr. Wegner's class who donated $91.67

Mrs. Krause's class who donated $77.38

Mrs. Zaddack's class who donated $67.26

Mrs. Dachelet's class who donated $65.59

Mr. Weldzius's class who donated $38.93

and Ms. Carrillo's class who donated $33.51

Thanks to all of you for your generosity.  You have shown that you truly care about literacy and helping others!

Thinglink Booktalks

Mr. Wegner's 5th graders shared some of their favorite books by creating their own interactive images in Thinglink. Thinglink brings images to life by letting users connect uploaded images to video, music, and text links. Users can also search for and comment on creations made by others.  Check out our examples below to find out more about what Mr. Wegner's students love.  Click on the icons embedded in the images to be connected to some awesome resources that tell you more about these books.

 

Pollution PSAs

Seventh grade students have been learning about different types of pollution in their Science class.  To share what they know, they created PSAs using iMovie.  View the videos below to see a few examples and learn more about how pollution affects our environment.