Read Across America Week

Next week we will honor the great Dr. Seuss by celebrating reading each day at school with a dress up theme! 

I hope that you read everyday, but I hope that next week, you can find a little extra special time to curl up with one of your favorite books. We all know how important reading is, but this week I want us to focus on how FUN reading can be!

Do you want to know more about Dr. Seuss? 

Kinder NGDC Showcase

Exciting News!!!

Join us for an afternoon of literary fun as teams of students from 29 Round Rock  elementary schools compete in a battle of questions about the 20 titles on the 2015-16 Bluebonnet Book List. Five students are selected from each campus to represent their school in the Battle of the Bluebonnets. The students come together to demonstrate their abilities and test their knowledge of the books they read.

Round Rock ISD's 6th annual Battle of the Bluebonnets will take place Thursday, March 10 at Dell Diamond in the United Heritage Center. Doors will open at 3:00 p.m. and the competition will begin at 4:00 p.m. This is the first year the Round Rock Express is involved in the battle, and it is coming out in a big way. Not only is the Express housing the expanding event this year, but the team is also sponsoring t-shirts for all of the participants.

“We are beyond excited about our new partnership with Round Rock ISD and the Battle of the Bluebonnets program,” said Chris Almendarez, president of the Express. “Events like these make it possible for us to not only give back to the community that supports us, but also encourage habits that drive the success of our future leaders, such as reading. We are honored to be the host of this year’s Battle and cannot wait to see the action firsthand!”

The top three placing teams of the battle will receive on-field recognition in front of their friends, family, educators and classmates during “Reading Day at Dell Diamond” in the spring. The first place team will also be taking a Battle of the Bluebonnets Champion plaque to their home campus and will each be the recipient of a 2016 Junior Sluggers Kids Club Membership, getting them 16 tickets to Express games throughout the season, a t-shirt, and more! Plus, every child that participates in the battle or read at least five books on the list will be gifted free tickets to Reading Day this season.

KVUE morning anchor and local celebrity Bryan Mays will return to host this year's event, and a special appearance by the Express mascot Spike is sure to keep the energy level high. Family and friends are welcome to attend to watch their children in the competition, but please note there is limited seating, so try to get there early to secure a spot.

Our libraries strive to create a reading culture in their schools, an essential component in encouraging students to become engaged and motivated readers. The reading competition is just one avenue to encourage students to read more both in quality and quantity and get them enthused about reading.

Every participant will receive a medal for just being there, and we always have a great time. The anticipation grows as we wait to see which school will take home the traveling trophy (and permanent campus plaque donated by the Express) this year!

We had a busy week!

Kindergarten had a fun lesson along with our Armadillo book "The Most Magnificent Thing." They were challenged to create a "magnificent thing" with reusing materials that could have been recycled.

1st & 3rd graders reviewed the research process and practiced notetaking with the "Trash vs. Treasure" method.

2nd grade just wrapped up learning about the water cycle and are working on poetry in reading and writing. We read the Armadillo book "Water Can Be" and then tried to create acrostic poems about water on the iPads.

Ms. Walker's 2nd grade class decided to finish up their poem in class. Here's their finished poem!

4th graders had a blast using iMovie to create a movie that reviewed 3 text features from their nonfiction book, and how those features help them as readers.

5th grade used the ClassKick app to learn about persuasive writing techniques and then practice using them.