On the 25th anniversary of the Oakland Hills Firestorm, the second graders and I are reading Patricia Polacco's memorable story, Tikvah Means Hope.
Justine and Duane are excited to spend the warm October night in Mr. Roth's Sukkah, a hut made as part of the Jewish harvest celebration of Sukkoth. (Pilgrims got the idea of Thanksgiving from the Sukkoth celebration.) In the morning, the sky was red and smoke filled the air as the Firestorm grew from a small grass fire into the most damaging fire in California history. Justine and Duane are reunited with their families and, thankfully, all of their neighbors are alive. But Mr. Roth is still terribly sad. Where is his beloved cat, Tikvah? Read this beautiful story to find out.
The second graders recognized the places in Oakland that were portrayed in the pictures. I shared some personal experiences about that sad time in our city's history. We talked about how the children must have felt back then when this happened, and what we can do to prevent this tragedy from happening again. Next time you and your student are near the Rockridge BART station, take some time to visit the Oakland Firestorm Wall—2000 hand-painted tiles created by local residents that share their sad, thankful, and hopeful memories related to the Firestorm.
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Thank You Dev Petty!
The students were so excited to visit with author Dev Petty today! If your student missed the opportunity to purchase a book, never fear. A Great Good Place for Books in Montclair will have signed copies of I Don't Want to Be a Frog and I Don't Want to Be Big available for sale.
Dev Petty's Green Shoes |
Dev Petty Greeting the Students |
Thursday, October 6, 2016
Dev Petty Visiting Thornhill!
Dev Petty |
TK, Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd graders, get ready to meet author Dev Petty
on Tuesday, October 18th at 11:00 am! The best-selling author of I Don’t Want To Be a
Frog will visit our school with her new book, I Don’t Want To Be Big. Both books will be available for sale courtesy of A Great Good Place For Books,
and Ms. Petty will be signing any purchased books.
“Frog does NOT want to grow up. Doesn’t need to be tall. Doesn’t want to be able to jump high enough to see the tree frogs. He’s just FINE being small. Besides, if you grow up, you don’t get to do fun things like jump in mud puddles with your best friend, Pig. Do you?
This hilarious story—which uses humor to teach that it’s great being exactly who you are—is sure to bring a smile to every kid who just wants to stay a kid, in addition to those who are the smallest in their class. It’s a sly and smartly funny tale that will have children and parents laughing together.”
GGP
accepts cash, checks (preferred; make checks payable to “GGP”), and credit cards.
Prices include tax. Books will also be available prior to the event at the
store in Montclair Village. Ms. Petty will sign purchased books at school on
October 18th.
I
Don’t Want To Be Big $18.50
Students' Work Decorates the Library
The fourth graders' artwork is beautifying the bulletin board for the fall season. See what their favorite books are on the Fall Into These Terrific Books display.
The third graders' Dictionary Dudes (and Dudettes) adorn the top of the book shelves in the library. We practiced looking up words, and learning what dictionary entries tell us about these words.
The Bulletin Board |
Ginger Pye. Lola H. |
The third graders' Dictionary Dudes (and Dudettes) adorn the top of the book shelves in the library. We practiced looking up words, and learning what dictionary entries tell us about these words.
Tarek W.'s Dictionary Dude |
Alice O.'s Dictionary Dude |
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