It's that time of year again!

It's Christmas movie season again! This week's post contains my most famous contribution to society: the definitive list and ratings of Christmas movies and "Christmas Movie Bingo" (trademark pending). Scroll down to access these treasures.

Updates
I know it's been super busy, but here are a couple of things we've done through the media center:

• 
  More Mystery Zooms are taking place. I met with Ms. Ziegler and Ms. Long's class to get started on the process. Ms. Kunkel met with classes in Massachusetts and California this week. Ms. Hickcox also connected with a class in Massachusetts. Next week, Ms. Tierney and Ms. Hickcox have sessions scheduled. 
• Balloons were floating through the Fishbowl this week. Ms. Tierney and Ms. Maude visited to hear "Balloons Over Broadway" and then created their own balloons to showcase on our very own street with stores named after our very own staff. Really fun!

Sora Updates
Our circulation numbers are climbing quickly. We now have over 230 checkouts which is double the number we had just two weeks ago! Thank you for promoting this resource in your class. And extra great news: my grant money has arrived! So when students return from break, there will be another $2000 worth of eBooks and audiobooks waiting for them. Sweet!

Teacher Appreciation Committee
We have new FTO committee focused on Teacher Appreciation. Joining me on the committee is Abbey Upton, Nikki Kunkel, and Rachel Burlison (she doesn't know yet. I love surprises!). If you have suggestions for activities, please let one of us know. Our first order of business is to plan and implement an ongoing beverage and snack station in the lounge. Please fill out this Teacher Appreciation Lounge Survey to let us know what you like! I'm also planning a return of the Festivus luncheon this year on December 21. Stay tuned for details!

Kiss the Pig Link
Monday will be the Kiss the Pig event. Students will be able to watch the event through Zoom in your classrooms. FTO has arranged for some snacks and drinks to be delivered for the viewing. Here is the link we'll use on Monday: Kiss the Pig Zoom Link

Alright, here's the content you're really here for. I hope you enjoy!

Christmas Movie List
-2021 movies are highlighted in green
-Netflix movies are highlighted in red
-if you have issues with the ratings, make your own list!

Christmas Movie Bingo

Have a great weekend!

You did it!

It's been a long week! Congratulations on making through the first trimester of another
crazy year. I only have one thing for you in this edition. 

"Matt Grants" are back!
Are you wanting something for your classroom that will enrich the education of young minds? Books, technology, seating, etc? Look no farther because "Matt Grants" are back. Running a book fair again has added a significant number of Benjamins to my Scholastic Dollar account. There's no real criteria or limit to what you can ask for. There's really no submission form either. Just tell me what you want (Scholastic Catalog). Enter 68863 as our account number and then your info. Sounds like you can make wishlists too. So look around and tell me what you want. The worst I can say is "no"! 

Ok, one more thing. We've had half as many Sora checkouts in the last two weeks as we did from August through the end of October! That's good. Please, please, please give your kids time to view the Sora app. It would also be great to include it as an activity to do when students finish their work. I have titles that suit grades 2-5 with more coming once my Links to Learning grant money arrives. 

Have a great weekend!

Your Definitive Book Fair Guide

What a great week! I'm sure you noticed that my usually cheery personality has

been in overdrive this week. In case you didn't know, the Braves are World Series Champions! 

Book Fair Information
All the info for next week's book fair:

• Your class will be completing digital wishlists during library time next week. Have them bring their iPads. They will be taking pictures of desired books and can post them to Seesaw.
• Sales will take place after school each day from 3:45 to 7:00.
• There will be no sales during the day. However, if you have a student who brings in money and you know their parents won't show up for conferences, let me know and we'll make it work.
• Come in after school today to pick out your classroom wish list books. Please don't clean us out. And don't take the last copy. If you'd like the a title that only has one copy left, let me know so I can order more first. You are welcome to come in during next week and add books to your stack. Or you can be like Jen and disregard all my directions and pick out 47 books. 

What's been happening...
It's been a busy week. Here are some of the highlights...

• 
  All of second grade visited the Fishbowl to create seed dispersal machines. We
  loved seeing so many unique designs to evenly spread seeds over our test area. Some worked well, and some failed miserably. But that's how it goes!
  
  
• Several kindergarten students visited my secret workshop to paint their new picnic tables. We'll have those out on their playground next week.
  
  
• 
  Ms. McIntyre and Ms. Wilson's classes came to the Fishbowl to take on the fall STEM challenge. They used apple chunks and toothpicks to build their names.
  
  
• Ms. Hickcox's class started working on Mystery Zooms. We introduced how it works and ran through a practice session with me. Their first real Mystery Zoom is scheduled for November 22 with a class somewhere in the world.
  
  
• Kindergarten had a special visitor this morning. Daisy, a therapy dog, had lots of books read to her this morning. 

Get all the rest this weekend! Thanks to YouTube TV, I'll be watching replays of World Series except during the three hours when Georgia is slaughtering the Tigers.