Wanamaker Library Newsletter

The WE 4th and 5th graders had a valuable opportunity recently with a visit from Emmanuel Pius, a native of Africa. Emmanuel was introduced to Wanamaker Elementary by former WE interventionist, Janelle Wilke, who now works as a sponsorship coordinator for Angel House Orphanage in Tarime, Tanzania. Janelle met Emmanuel at Angel House, who works there as an intrepreter. Emmanuel is also currently doing his clinicals as a medical school student in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Emmanuel gave our students a unique look at parts of the African culture and educational system. Education is not free in Africa the same way that it is in America. Much perseverance and determination is needed to obtain an education in Africa. But, as Emmanuel expressed, education is what is needed to lift people out of poverty and to be able to provide for themselves.

Mrs. Kromminga, 4th grade teacher, had this to say about Emmanuel's visit, "The kids really seemed to enjoy the presentation, especially the pictures Emmanuel showed of the school, kids, and animals of the region. Being able to make comparisons and connections between the lives of students in Africa compared to their own was a unique and worthwhile experience."

Emmanuel's presentation included pictures of the kindergarten and secondary schools at Angel House Orphanage. They are working hard to acquire funds to build an elementary school there, too. Our students are excited to be able to contribute to those funds when WE donates a portion of the profits that are made with the Bucks For Books campaign that Student Council will sponsor in conjunction with our annual book fair to be held in February 2025.

There is so much to learn from others' cultures and experiences! Our students received a taste of that with Emmanuel's visit! Thank you, Emmanuel, for taking the time to visit us and share your valuable experiences!

As a follow up to Emmanuel's visit, we read the picture book The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by Brian Mealer and William Kamkwamba in library class. Here, too, we learned of a young man desiring to make a difference in his home country of Africa. After having to drop out of school during the great famine of 2001 and 2002, William (with English dictionaries by his side) read books to learn how to create a windmill. He saw the machine as a weapon against the hunger that his family and people were experiencing. By creating a makeshift windmill using blue gum trees, bicycle parts, and materials from a scrapyard, he was able to harness the wind to provide electricity and water, providing irrigation for his father's fields.

Two other books in our collection that show the determination and perseverance of African natives include I Will Always Write Back: How One Letter Changed Two Lives and Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina. We talked about these books and watched the book trailers for them.

On Monday, November 11, Wanamaker Elementary held its second annual Veterans Day Assembly for the school community. It proved to be a touching and heartfelt way to honor our community's veterans and active military members.

Assembly events included the changing of the colors by WRHS Jr. ROTC members, performances by the honor choir and band, a student speaker explaining the significance of America's White Table, and students giving red and white carnations to their special guests in attendance. The veterans and service members exited to hallways and sidewalks lined wih students and staff showing their appreciation by waving flags and applauding our special guests.

This assembly was a valuable teaching tool to help increase our students' understanding and comprehension of the incredible efforts and sacrifices our veterans and armed forces have made for the freedoms that we enjoy daily.

In our library classes, we learned about the military tradition of the White Table and the significance of its items by reading the book titled America's White Table by Margot Raven Theis and illustrated by Mike Benny. The 6th graders then wrote what the little white table means to them, and their responses were displayed in the hallway. Several were also chosen to be put on the table to signify our appreciation for the freedoms that we have been granted.

We celebrated Picture Book Month with a challenge to the students to read as many picture books as possible! Many students took us up on the challenge and earned rewards for reaching individual reading milestones. Rewards included unique bookmarks, Chick Fil A coupons for a kids' meal, and chances to put their names in a drawing for five $10 gift cards to Barnes and Noble. Congratulations to the winners of the gift cards: Nora, Henley, Prathyuksha, Pranith, and Roland.

WE students read over 4,000 picture books! Our mystery picture came alive as students put stickers on the poster for each book they read (see above photo). It was fun to hear the students and staff speculating on what they thought the picture was going to be. The most common guesses were "turkey" and "monkey" with our custodian, Regina, being the first to guess correctly with "sloth"!

It was a lot of fun to see students of all ages get excited about the picture book challenge. Numerous students reported that they were reading to their younger siblings or their small cousins. I told them they earned bonus points for that! One 5th grader was overheard saying, "I love this. It takes me back to my childhood!"

Students enjoyed checking out the staff's favorite picture books as well as discovering some of their own new favorites. Way to go, WE students! A big Thank You to Chick Fil A for partnering with us and providing kids' meals coupons to those students achieving that milestone.

This fall our library received a grant from the Auburn Washburn Foundation. The grant, titled Building Emotional Resilience, will be used to update our collection of social emotional books. Mrs. Reinert is working with the WE mental health team to determine which books can best be utilized by our school community.

Thank you to the Foundation for their generous contribution and for helping us to update our resources!

Winter break is the perfect time to snuggle up with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate! Feel free to print off this Winter Break Reading Bingo page from Capstone Publishing to keep your kiddos reading over break! If the student returns to school in January with the Bingo page signed by an adult, they will receive a small reward. It's a great way to keep reading fun and entertaining when the kids are out of school. Consider participating along with your student(s) for an extra special bonding experience!

Dec. 6 and Jan. 10 & 24--Student Council Meetings in the library at 8:00 AM

Dec. 10-- Student Council goes holiday caroling at The Rolling Hills Health Center after school. StuCo members will make winter ornaments to give to each resident.

Dec. 13-- Teachers are invited to come to the library and choose a wrapped "mystery" book to add to their classroom library, courtesy of the WE library!

Dec. 20-- Student Council and the different grade levels present their holiday donations to pre-determined organizations at a Holiday Assembly. Student Council's donations (purchased with the proceeds from the sales of Boo Grams) will go to The Villages.

Dec. 20-- Last day of school before Winter Break!

Week of Jan. 6-- Introduce Battle of the Books to Grades 4-6.

Jan. 14-- 5th and 6th grade Book Club meeting in the library at 8:00 A.M.

Feb. 5-- All 3rd graders will participate in a virtual visit with author Josh Funk to celebrate World Read Aloud Day.

Feb. 10 - 13-- Scholastic Book Fair (watch for information to come home with your student and for book fair volunteer opportunities).