OES Reads: The Last Chapter

After our 2017 OES Reads season kicked-off with a wild surprise (read this post to catch-up on the kick-off), we certainly didn't expect to wrap up our five weeks with still more surprises.

Our OES Reads season was scheduled to be five weeks long, with reading chunks of Fenway and Hattie, our whole-school-community book split over that time frame. We expected to conclude the OES Reads program with a Closing Assembly on the last day of the fifth week, and we had made plans to Skype with author Victoria Coe the following Monday. It was a pretty well-planned schedule.

Only, when you live in Maine, even the best laid plans are subject to disruptive weather.

Weather postponed our Closing Assembly to the following Friday, the day before vacation week.
Weather postponed our Skype calls with Victoria Coe to Friday, the day before vacation week.
And we went to school on Valentine's Day and didn't return until...you guessed it: Friday, the day before vacation week.

You might imagine how frustrating the last two weeks have been, out of the classroom more than we have been in.

Thankfully, after days of stormy weather and dark skies, Friday morning came without a 5:00 a.m. phone call to cancel school, and plans to celebrate the end of OES Reads would be underway. I emailed Victoria to confirm that we *would* be at school and able to Skype today. As I climbed into the car, my phone buzzed in my pocket.

It was Victoria.
She got my email.
She had "big secret news."
Could I sneak her into the building at 10:30?

Victoria Coe, who had already generously scheduled (and rescheduled) two Skypes with our students, had decided to hop in the car and make the three-hour trip to surprise our students in person on this final day of OES Reads.

I do love a good book-ish surprise.

When the K-2 students and teachers reported to the gym for their "Skype," they were surprised to find Victoria Coe there waiting for them. (It was fun to watch the realization spread among the teachers, too!) Kids who had prepared questions for Victoria took their turns asking, and some teachers asked questions, too. And when Victoria read a bit of Fenway and Hattie and the Evil Bunny Gang aloud, even the youngest readers were still and attentive.

In the afternoon it was the grade 3-6 students who were in for a surprise when Victoria greeted them at the door for their "Skype." Victoria answered more student questions, ranging from wonders about author decisions while writing Fenway and Hattie to curiosities about the writing life of an author. Then, some sixth grade students who had drafted short writing pieces from a dog's point of view bravely stood before their peers and our guest and read their writing, leaving Victoria and the audience to guess where or what they were exploring. There were successful guesses all around.

Immediately following the older students' "Skype," the K-2 classes returned to the gym so that the whole school was gathered together once again. It was time for our Closing Assembly.

Our Closing Assembly has become a much-loved celebration because it has traditionally been a sharing of student work. The Kick-off Assembly is comprised of staff presentations, skits, performances. By contrast, at the Closing Assembly we feature students who have something to share related to our OES Reads book. Personally, I was happy that Victoria's surprise visit would allow her to see how her work, Fenway and Hattie, had inspired some of our kids.

The Closing Assembly featured a first grader who wrote her own book called Fenway and the Wicked Floor. Poised as could be, she introduced her book and read her story aloud to the audience. Another first grader had made a video of himself reading Fenway and Hattie to his family pet, and fourth grade students who had done perspective writing. There may also have been a silly flashmob by many good-sport staff members, too. We thanked Victoria again, publicly, and sent her home with a small gift of appreciation. Victoria shared with our OES Read-ers that her very favorite part of being an author is getting to spend time with the readers who have read Fenway and Hattie.

Having Victoria join us for our last chapter of OES Reads 2017 was an enormous gift to our students and our school community. Her generosity and interest in our students and whole-school reading community will not be forgotten!

OES Reads 2017: The Big Reveal

OES Reads is what we call our whole-school family and community reading initiative. Our program is modeled after the One School, One Book movement. Planning and executing our own program has allowed for dreaming and creativity to be part of the journey towards making bookish memories for our students and their families, and today was no exception.

Today was the day we revealed our book for 2017.

Students started to buzz with interest as soon as they saw the hallway bulletin board change before winter break. When they returned to school in the new year, students listened intently for the daily clues revealed to them about this year's OES Reads author. They started digging in their repertoire of familiar authors and trying to find a match for the clues. Random objects also started to appear on the walls and doors of the school: hydrants, baseballs, squirrels, paws, and dog treats.

Some students made guesses about the author.
                                                Could it be Elly Swartz? She lives in Massachusetts!
                                                                                           It's a dog book. I think it's Maxi's Secrets.

Other students applied heavy pressure to the teachers and other school staff. They really thought they might get someone to slip them a secret.

 It was a good thing we didn't have to wait any longer to let the word out. Today we gathered all 450ish students together in the gym with their teachers and some family members and special guests and participated in our kick-off assembly. We finally got to tell the students that this year, we are reading

Fenway and Hattie, by Victoria Coe!

The assembly included some OES Reads traditions the students have come to expect, like our OES Reads cheer, a skit (that's always good for some giggles) by teacher-actors, and the revealing of the larger-than-life book cover.

This year, we also had some special surprises in store.

One of the teachers four-legged friends strapped on a GoPro camera and toured the school and playground to help us make an introduction video for the book that helped introduce Fenway's point of view, his family, and hinted at a conflict he has in Fenway and Hattie. Nala was a great sport! The students were quick to recognize the Buddy Bench and the fire truck bouncer from the playground. It was entirely worth the work to hear first graders nudge each other and say, "Hey, that's our classroom!" with magic in their voices.


Victoria Coe, the author of Fenway and Hattie, was especially excited and wished she could be there for the assembly. To help introduce herself to OES Read-ers, she sent a video to say hello and book-talk her book. Kids cheered, and Kipper got his own adoring "awwws."

The biggest surprise of all came at the very end of the assembly. Since the paperback copies of Fenway and Hattie just published last week (January 3, 2017), we knew we had to have everything fall into place to have 450 copies ready for today's kick-off. On Friday, we had only received 140 and learned the other books would not arrive on time. To say this snafu was a damper on our energy is an understatement, however we knew that with so many students and families and guests planning for the kick-off this afternoon, the show would have to go on. The script had been written to accommodate for this possibility, even making light of it by having a constructed UPS truck deliver the books to the assembly at the last minute.

The assembly agenda flowed smoothly. We approached the conclusion of the assembly, the assistant principal "drove" the van into the gymnasium heralding "Special Delivery!" in her megaphone, and we all laughed and cheered. But then, I caught a shine in the eye of the secretary who was walking toward me. We stalled on the distribution of books a little, trying to buy a bit of time, because in the hallway, she was helping someone to get a utility cart. And there, through the doorway came another person dressed in brown: the *real* UPS delivery man was carting in the rest of our OES Reads books, right off his truck!

It wasn't our most organized book distribution, but it will easily go down in OES Reads history as the most memorable distribution.

Things settled and quieted in the gym as teachers handed brand-new copies of Fenway and Hattie to the students. Students flipped through pages, pointed out the sketches of Fenway, read the blurb on the back of the book to each other. When we were confident no child had been skipped, our principal began to read Chapter 1 to everyone aloud. Older kids scooted close to younger students, parents pulled kids onto their laps on the floor, and little voices from the first grade class asked, "Did you already turn the page??"

It would have been easy to get swept up in all of it and miss out on noticing the beauty. There were many, many smiling faces, and that perfect sigh of disappointment when the first chapter was over. A good sign that they are happy with their new books.

Over the next five weeks, Fenway and Hattie will have a presence in our school community. With plans for daily trivia, family involvement events, a family literacy night, and Skypes with Victoria Coe, there's a lot more to come. Stay tuned!

OES Reads 2016: Family Night

Our whole-school/community reading initiative, OES Reads, is in it's fourth year, and with each year, we think the program grows better and better. Aside from selecting the books that will connect us and planning the big launch, Family Night is the part of our program that requires the most planning.

Family Night is deserving of so much attention and effort. We gather families of all students, grades PreK-6 and offer a smattering of activities related to our common book experiences that families can engage in together. This year, 58 families came to school on a Tuesday evening to meet our OES Reads author, Cynthia Lord, and participate in Family Night fun!

Family Night stations were situated across the cafeteria, gymnasium, music room, and lobby area of our school building. Most activities were related to our two OES Reads books, Rules and Shelter Pet Squad: Jelly Bean, but we snuck in some connections to Ms. Lord's other books, too. Look and see!

We were incredibly fortunate to have Cynthia Lord join us for a Meet & Greet at our Family Night event! A steady line streamed through the cafeteria for the chance to meet Ms. Lord and have their books signed.

Our committee felt strongly that we wanted to incorporate a component of community service into OES Reads this year, having selected two books that inspired giving back. We invited representatives from Responsible Pet Care to join us with an information station about our local animal shelter. We also advertised a Shelter Drive and collected goods to donate to Responsible Pet Care. And, families also visited a craft table with an assortment of ideas for making simple pet toys. All of the toys families made were also donated to the shelter.

Additionally, we were joined by a parent of an OES alum who set up a table for raising awareness and understanding about autism. Nearby, families could find more information about the Light it Up Blue initiative for Autism Awareness Month in April and could design a symbolic blue candle that we will use to help celebrate in solidarity next month.

Our Phys. Ed. teacher was on hand with a physical challenge for students to complete using a wheelchair and other assistive devices. Families posted their reflections about the experience. Families also faced a communication card challenge activity at another station.

Our district librarian helped to create a display of Schneider Family Book Award winning titles that could be recommended to students and families for future reading.

Down the hall, laughter was heard while families picked out props and had their picture taken in our Cynthia Lord photo booth. There were generic "book nerd" props, but most props were related to other Cynthia Lord books. There was a camera/paddle/lifejacket set from Half a Chance, Fourth of July gear from Touch Blue, an enormous blueberry/pageant sash/crown from A Handful of Stars, and a helmet, goggles, and student-sized race car from Hot Rod Hamster. The pictures on the photo booth camera speak for themselves.

Meanwhile, the cafeteria was buzzing with excitement, too. Two tables hosted a craft activity where families could stitch up their own Whiskers craft and make a friend to keep in their pocket just like Suzannah does in Shelter Pet Squad.

On the opposite side of the room, folks were busy at work in the "junkyard" of collected recycled materials where families engaged in a Hot Rod Design Challenge, racing their constructed cars down a ramp to win prizes.

 

And, since no gathering is without snacks, volunteer staff helped to serve Hamster Snacks of crunchy veggies and tasty blueberry smoothies to families, too.

Because we are a Title I school, and we use some of our parent involvement money to purchase some of the OES Reads books for families, we are required to conduct parent education during the event, though we try to be creative about how. We find that a brief parent session where staff and parents can swap ideas for supporting literacy at home does the trick, and it permits students to hear a read aloud--this year our library tech shared more Hot Rod Hamster books--in the adjoining room, too. We offer these sessions on a rotation so that families are only apart from the action for a short time.

OES Reads Family Night was an exciting night all-around. It was wonderful to introduce families to Cynthia Lord in person. We had an awesome turn out of staff to help support the event and interact with families, and our kids had a really great time. One student bounced into breakfast on Wednesday morning announcing, "Last night was the best night ever!"

We're so glad that connecting over books can be so fun.

Most--but not all--the staff who supported OES Reads Family Night
having photo booth fun with Ms. Lord.

This week, we'll wrap up OES Reads for another year, but not before we host Cynthia Lord on Thursday for a whole-school author visit and our Closing Celebration!

OES Reads 2016: The Big Reveal

The anticipation leading up to this year's OES Reads Kick-off was hard to miss. Since the day the bulletin board announced the big reveal was "coming soon," students had been talking among themselves and with teachers about which author and books might be featured as the center of our whole-school community reading program for 2016.

Our whole-school community reading program--OES Reads--started in 2013, inspired by the One School, One Book project. Over the years, we have fashioned our program into one that works for our school community, and one that students look forward to. Last year we made shifts in our initiative in order to better accommodate the wide age range of our students and elected to make our program revolve around two books by a single author. [You can find my series of blog posts about this shift (and all that resulted) and our 2015 OES Reads program featuring author Kate Messner here.]

We just announced the 2016 OES Reads author and books to our school community--including students, staff, and families--this week.

The week prior, we built excitement and anticipation for the project with little pictures of book-specific objects turning up in the hallways and a clue being shared during each day's morning announcements. Some students kept a suspect list of authors they thought could match the clues. Others went home and did research, and they were sneaky in asking questions of their teachers when they got back to school, hoping for a hint of confirmation!

At last, the day of the big reveal came. Students were eager to have their suspicions about this year's author and books confirmed at our whole-school Kick-off Assembly, and we were happy to not have this great news stay secretive:

For our 2016 whole-school community reading program, OES is reading books by...

Cynthia Lord!

The room erupted, and students cheered wildly at the news. Grades PreK-2 will be reading the book Shelter Pet Squad: Jelly Bean, and grades 3-6 will be reading Rules.

The Kick-off Assembly also included two skits performed by teachers and school personnel to introduce each of the books.

One teacher, playing the role of Catherine, went through the motions of her day: waking up and getting ready for school, going to school and learning in the classroom, and going to recess with friends. Only it seemed that at every turn someone else in her life (mother, teacher, classmate) was blowing a whistle at her to emphasize the rules she lives by. When Catherine blew her own whistle and declared it enough, we uncovered the oversized book cover for Rules.

After transitioning with a slideshow of photos of OES staff members with their pets (to which each of the 40+ slides got it's own "Aww!"), another teacher acting as Suzannah performed a monologue about the unfairness of rules that say you can't have pets. When her "mother" entered the scene with the prospect of visiting the animal shelter, we uncovered the oversized cover for Jelly Bean.

Thanks to our PTA, we were also able to reveal some other big and exciting new to OES Reads students: Cynthia Lord will visit OES for a whole-day author visit on March 24, the same day as our OES Reads Closing Celebration!

Teachers helped to distribute individual copies of the respective books to each student, approximately 450 books combined. Then, the whole group broke into two smaller groups and our principal and assistant principal kicked off the reading experiences by sharing the first chapters aloud.

As students returned to their classrooms for dismissal, many paused to peek at the OES Reads bulletin board, now fully unveiled to include a photo of OES Reads Author Cynthia Lord. "I can't wait to read more of this," was heard among the chatter, with many students claiming their book was "catching."


There is so much more literacy excitement to come in the next month of OES Reads. Stay tuned for more sharing of student work and special events related to our whole-school community reading program!

OES Reads: The Final Chapter

In addition to some final classroom projects, this week we put closure on OES Reads for 2015. Our last day of the five-week period was bookend-ed with excitement and celebration.

(Find more information about OES Reads in these previous blog posts in the series: Building Excitement, the Big Reveal, Week 1, Week 2, Family Literacy Night, Week 4.)

Virtual Author Visits
Kate Messner has been a superstar in our new venture of unifying students PreK-6 with studying a single author's work. Kate has been generous in her support for OES Reads, always curious and interested in what was happening with her new readers in our small school in rural Maine. While we were unable to coordinate an in-person author visit with Kate, she was gracious in scheduling two virtual visits with our students and staff on Friday, the day of our closing assembly.

As the first group of students arrived--the younger readers who read Ranger in Time: Rescue on the Oregon Trail--a colleague shared with me that the students were excited. "They're more excited about this than Valentine's Day and the 100th Day of School!" (Which it was on Friday, too.) I think her comment stemmed from the nervous/excited buzz of the gym as students were seated on mats on the floor and were taken by the large projection on the gym wall. But that buzz of energy didn't worry me; it told me the students knew what I did--what was happening was something special. For this group of students (and many of my colleagues), our Skype with Kate was a first: they had never had this experience before. 

Soon enough, the icon near Kate's name turned green, I gave the students an ever-so-brief introduction, and they fell silent, waiting to see the author they've heard so much about over the last five weeks come alive on the screen.

The buzz subsided. They were fascinated as soon as Kate said "Hello."

Kate shared the story of how Ranger in Time came to be and told about the travel and research she did to write Rescue on the Oregon Trail and Danger in Ancient Rome. Our students delighted to hear they were among some of the first readers to see the newly printed ARCs of Danger in Ancient Rome, and they were happy to sneak a peek inside at Kelly McMorris's art. 

Kate also took questions from the group, ranging from how she "got so good at writing" to why she kissed a frog to do research! Students and teachers alike were mesmerized when Kate read aloud the beginning of soon-to-be-published Up in the Garden, Down in the Dirt (March 3, 2015).

We signed off with Kate briefly and transitioned the K-3 group--with magic still alive in their eyes--back to their classrooms, bringing in the 4-6th grade group who read Capture the Flag. Some of these students had experienced an author Skype before, but far more of the students were new to the experience in this group also.

The reaction of the older students to Skyping with Kate was just the same. The students were engulfed in Kate's presentation about the research and writing process behind Capture the Flag. Writing became real for them when Kate showed them her oversized pages of maps and webs and plans. The questions posed by the fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students showed real interest and curiosity about authorship. Most questions were about Kate's writing process and habits. 

The 4th-6th grade students' to-be-read lists grew a little during our Skype, too, especially when Kate talked about the plot in her Spring 2016 novel, currently titled The Seventh Wish. Now they will all be waiting along with the rest of us!

If she hadn't already captured the students with her books, Kate certainly won them over with her virtual visits on Friday. It might have had something to do with the package of bookmarked and signed book labels she promised, but I think it had more to do with the statement she made to OES Readers (and writers!) that they matter--enough that she wanted to talk to them. Kate became "known" to the students as a person behind the name and beautiful book covers. As an OES Reads author, Kate will remain part of our school community for a long time to come.

The Closing Assembly
The last 75 minutes of the day on Friday--a send-off to vacation week--was spent as a whole-school community. Assembled in the gym with many parent guests, our closing assembly was fashioned to showcase OES Reads-related work from across all grade levels.

Third grade students display poster-sized directions for making a yarn doll.

• Kindergarteners sang "R-A-N-G-E-R" (to the tune of "B-I-N-G-O"). 
• 1st graders shared visualization work or opinion writing. One class of first graders even taught the teachers a square dance.
• 2nd graders shared maps of westward movement trails, including the Oregon Trail.
• 3rd graders shared reflective writing and the directions for making a yarn doll.
• 4th graders performed a skit to book-talk other Kate Messner titles for future reading.
• 5th graders recited Kate's poem "What Happened to Your Book Today."
• 6th graders performed a readers theater about the history of the Star-Spangled Banner.
• Grades K-3 sang "Yankee Doodle" and grades 4-6 sang "The Star-Spangled Banner."
• And we watched the whole five weeks in review with a slideshow.

The closing assembly was special. It was a new venture to have so many students and classrooms share the spotlight. Parents snapped photos, took video, and beamed over everything the kids did.

The last day of OES Reads will be an important memory in the lives of our students as they look back on their year of school. From the opportunity to talk with our OES Reads author to the final showcase of student work, our last day of OES Reads 2015 embodied what it's all about: connecting through reading and writing.

Thanks for "journeying" with me/us through this blog series. I hope, sincerely, that something from our project has been helpful or inspiring to you as you think about making the connectivity reading and writing real for your students and school community. 

OES Reads: Family Literacy Night

A staple of our whole-school family reading project (OES Reads) is a Family Literacy Night when we bring students and their parents and siblings to school for a wide-array of activities related to our whole-school books/author. 

(Find more information about OES Reads in these previous blog posts in the series: Building Excitement, the Big Reveal, Week 1, and Week 2.)

The event was supposed to be held on January 27, coinciding with the release of Kate Messner's newest book, All the Answers. However, the weather was uncooperative. We held our event on it's rescheduled date, January 29, and had good attendance despite the change of plans. Fifty-three families were represented!

The event was comprised of two main segments: Activity Stations and the All the Answers Birthday Party.

Activity Stations
All participants rotated between three stations in the first part of the event. When families arrived, they were given a raffle ticket in one of three colors. The colors helped keep the size of the groups fairly even. The three activities happened simultaneously for 20 minutes, and then the groups would rotate.

In the gym, staff volunteers facilitated many activities children on the Oregon Trail might have engaged in to entertain themselves. Students and parents were jumping rope, playing hopscotch, using hoops, and more. This station also had the equipment to play Capture the Flag. Outside the gym, students and families were invited to sign their names on Independence Rock.

In the cafeteria, families made book-related crafts. Some constructed covered wagons out of milk cartons. Others made Silver Jaguar Jewelry with silver medallions, paw stamps, and oodles of beads. Some families accomplished both crafts. There was also a station in the cafeteria where staff were poised with face paint for participants who wanted "Snake Arm" tattoos. 

The third station took place in our music room. A kindergarten teacher gathered all the students in this group and read aloud from some of Kate's other books (including Over and Under the Snow, Sea Monster's First Day, and Sea Monster and the Bossy Fish). While the students were occupied, parents and school staff engaged in conversations about supporting students in their writing development. The conversations were fashioned in the likeness of restorative practice circles, keeping the conversation voluntary and interactive.

The Birthday Party
When the committee first looked at our five-week time frame for OES Reads with the goal of reserving a date for Family Literacy night, we looked for something that was mid-way through the project to maintain excitement and interest. I had read an advanced reader's copy of Kate Messner's All the Answers and when I realized it would be released on January 27--smack dab in the middle of our timeline--we had a win-win situation. Before long, plans for a book birthday party were underway.


When Family Night finally arrived, we had balloons and party hats and cupcakes and gifts...and excited readers. What more could we need?

And this was taken BEFORE all the cupcakes had arrived!

Raffle prizes wrapped as presents

After three rotations, the whole group assembled in the cafeteria around tables adorned with a birthday cake and cupcakes of every possible variety. After some brief announcements and thank yous, All the Answers was introduced to the crowd and students, families, and staff sang "Happy Birthday" to this (almost) brand new book. No one minded that it was belated!

While families ate their cupcakes and trail mix and sipped on lemonade, the host drew tickets for the "gifts." Wrapped up like presents were an assortment of other Kate Messner titles and packages of notebooks and writing tools to encourage student writing at home.

Digital Media students mid-production

Student Media Coverage
Members of our school Digital Media team were on hand for Family Literacy Night. In addition to collecting photos and video from the event, the students conducted interviews with an assortment of guests, which they hope to compile into an OES Reads news report. Even I was interviewed!

Supporting Home Reading
Erica Jedd, owner of our community bookstore Books N Things, was in attendance for the Family Literacy Night also. Not only did she deliver the Kate Messner books that were ordered in advance (including copies of the brand-new release All the Answers!), but she brought limited stock to make available to families. She sold out of Wake Up Missing and All the Answers, and a few other titles were seen walking around, too. Erica is still taking orders and honoring the OES Reads discount for OES families for the next two weeks of our project, also.

Families perused other Kate Messner
titles at the Books N Things display.

Tomorrow we will begin Week 4 of our OES Reads program. Four snow days in the last eight days have made the classroom projects hard to accomplish, but have given students lots of time for reading at home and working on calendar activities. And, we're beginning to turn our planning minds to the finale of our project. More to come!

Use this link to read the next blog post in the series: OES Reads: Week 4.