Spring Stuffie Sleepover was a hoot!
Over 90 K-2nd grade stuffed animals spend the weekend in the library getting to know one another through an array of activities such as: games, tea party, visiting our new goats, enjoying spa treatments, zip-lining through the library and watching Toy Story each night! Here are two videos capturing the weekend: 
Day 1: http://get-puppet.com/v/Ffmd5GQHm2k?autoplay=true
Day 2: http://get-puppet.com/v/PZ0pQElekmo?autoplay=true

​Our 1st MUS Battle of the Books drew 20 students who successfully read the number of books allotted per 3-6th grade level throughout the school year. Readers formed teams, and competed in a literary gameshow format for the title. Then three of our Mustangs qualified for the Santa Barbara County Battle of the Books. Students enjoyed a day of meeting new friends,  competing on teams and meeting author Bruce Hale. We Battle buzz is on! We look forward to next year's events!

May is Asian & Pacific Islander American month across the nation! We celebrated the many rich contributions and accomplishments through an array of picture and chapter books as well as showcased authors & illustrators in the library.

Summer is right around the corner!
Foster your child's imagination, creativity and literary development by encouraging your students to read every day. We will be sending home summer reading lists and activities. Stay tuned!

Dear Mustang Family,
What an amazing cantor through the winter months we've had in 2023!
Here's a recap:

• In grades 2-3 continued expanding their reading interests by participating in "Read Around the Genres." Many second grade students have finished and have opted to try the 3rd grade challenge. Love their spirit! In essence, students receive a library book mark that showcases all the different genres. As each student completes a chapter book within each genre, they pull a reading response card and discuss their responses with me. After each discussion students earn a sticker on that particular genre. Once all genres have been read, students can draw a goody from the library treasure trunk! 
• In grades 4-6, over 45 students took part in the first MUS Writer's Club focusing on graphic novels! Highlights included author James Burks zoom to share his writing and illustrating approach with students. And, watching students apply their sketches and story elements to two different graphic novel apps. Such creativity and dedication!
• Students in TK-6 have celebrated Black History Month and Women in History Month. Picture books are an amazing way to capture the essence of each person celebrated and discussed. Such a great way to introduce students to all the amazing accomplishments of historically under-represented people.
• Important units of study were showcased in the library including 6th grade's Ancient Egyptian masks and sarcophagus as well as Mrs. N.'s 5th grade's water preservation reports and challenges.
• The reading incentive program, "Battle of the Books" that we have been plugging all school year long is finally here! Students in grades 3-6 who have read their grade level quota have been invited to this week's practice sessions in preparation for our MUS Battle of the Books set for April 11th. From our local competition, five students who have read the most Battle of the Books books, will be sent to the County's  Battle of the Books competition set for April 27th. 
• The MUS Spelling Bee has returned! Each homeroom held their own spell off and the top two homeroom spellers were invited to the library for a 4-6th grade MUS Spelling Bee on March 7th. Dylan McLean and Brandon Stein were sent to the County Spelling Bee three days later! Check out Noozhawk's recap of this year's County Spelling Bee results!

All for now! We're looking forward to April's Poetry Jam and more! Keep reading Mustang families!
Warmest Regards,
Mrs. Allison
MUS Teacher Librarian

Hello MUS!
​Our Mustangs charged into the New Year by participating in the California Young Reader Medal Program. The California Young Reader Program, encourages California students to read recommended books by other California students, teachers and librarians. Mustangs read then vote on their grade specific categories. Votes are sent to CYRM and the author/illustrator who receives the most votes earns a special CYRM sticker award for their book. 

In addition, we have launched our first MUS Writer's Club focusing in on the graphic novel. Over 40 students meet each Tuesday during lunch to learn and explore their writing process. Graphic novelist, James Burks zoomed in with our writers this week and shared his creative process. We're super excited to see so many engaged young writers! Go Mustangs!

The Spelling Bee is back!
Students in grades 4-6 will participate in a homeroom spelling bee first. Then each homeroom will send their top two spellers to the library for a school wide spelling bee. The top 2 students plus an alternative will head to the Santa Barbara County Spelling Bee on March 9, 2023.

The library is a happening place during morning and lunch recess! We have readers of course, but also students enjoying chess, banana, checkers, puzzles, coloring and knitting! 

Phew! Check out what our readers have been up to in the Library this Fall!  
Students in grades 2nd and 3rd are in the midst of a new reading program called "Read Around the Genres." The ultimate goal is for students to sample different types of stories to expand their reading interests. Our focus this year is to update our early reader chapter books and as the new batches of books have arrived, students are devouring them! When they discover a new book, a new series or a subject close to their hearts, their enthusiasm is precious! Facilitating their passion is my favorite part of the job.
Students in grades 3-6 who have opted in to the "Battle of the Books" reading program, are also in the midst of reading high quality books in preparation for the first annual MUS Battle of the Books competition which will take place in March. Five MUS students will continue on to the Santa Barbara County Office of Education competition soon after.
Our first annual "Booklab" event was a HUGE success! The MUS Foundation and the library co-launched, a very special literary event for all attendees. Mustangs and their families listened to five amazing authors and illustrators who shared their creative process, created stories, led sketches and sang and danced. The 5th grade students sold lemonade and treats as a fundraiser for their colonial trip and Timbre Books bookstore pop up helped fundraise for new library books. We were extremely touched by one of our families who made a substantial donation to help update our collections. Thank you!! Such a fun event. I can hardly wait for next year!
Many MUS students were spotted at the "Breakfast with the Authors" SBCOE event in October. We ate a solid breakfast while listening to many published author's creative process. In late January, SBCOE will host another event called Author-Go-Around which will be another wonderful literary opportunity. 
Finally, over 35 students in grades 4-6 joined the Library Book Club and read Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech, a John Newberry awarded author! We met in the Nature Lab each week to discuss and ultimately to plot our scavenger hunt finale. Students wrote to Mrs. Creech and she responded, multiple times! She loved our scavenger hunt pictures and sent students special Ruby Holler pins letting them know they made her day, week and month!
In January, our first MUS Writer's Club will launch! We will focus on the graphic novel!! Details to follow!

Fall is the perfect time to enjoy to join a fun reading incentive program! The colors are changing, the days are shorter and well, it just feels natural to find a yummy book, cuddle up and read! Here are some fun ways you can share this reading joy with others. 

Grades 2 & 3:
Read Around the Genre - (September 26 - June 2) Read Around the Genre is designed to encourage students to expand their reading awareness and preferences by sampling books from an array of genres. In a nutshell, students will be given a bookmark consisting of 8 genres (2nd grade) or 11 genres (3rd grade). When students complete a book, they will draw a response card and discuss their answer with Mrs. Allison or Mrs. Eckhart. If students earn all 8 or 11 completion hole punches on their card, they are intrinsically rewarded with an expanded reading experience and extrinsically rewarded by picking a goody from the  Library Treasure Trunk! 

Grades 3-6: 
MUS 4th Grade Battle of the Books - (October-March) Students in grades 3-6 will read a certain amount of books per grade level between October and March 2023. Third will read 5/9 books, fourth  10/15 books and 5th&6th 15/28 from the Battle of the Books list (Library Book Club read, Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech is also on the list) Once your student finishes reading a book they will go to the library (before school, at recess, or at lunch) to share their thinking and understanding of the book in some way with Mrs. Allison. Students will get an online emoji stamp on their progress tracker, receive a small prize and then spin the Battle of Books wheel to select their next book. Each student that reaches their grade level goal will be able to participate in the quiz-show-style Springtime Battle (during March parent conferences). More information will be sent home in October but feel free to click on the link to view the. lists and pre-register. 

Grades 4-6:
Library Book Club - We will be reading award winning author Sharon Creech’s book, Ruby Holler. We will meet on Tuesdays during lunch in the library on the following dates:  September 27th, October 4, 11, 18 and 25.  Students will be given a copy of the book and will meet with the club to eat lunch, discuss the book and engage in fun book related activities. 

Grades 4-6:
Santa Barbara County Office of Education's, "Breakfast with the Authors" event Saturday, October 15th at 10:00am. For more info and to register, click HERE. 

What a joy to see the smiling faces of our new and returning students!
Over the summer, our facilities team and Mrs. Eckhart and I reorganized the library to increase ease of access and efficiency in the library. Here's what's new:

• New air conditioning and heater! Yipppeeee!
• Conducted a complete inventory and updated collections
• Genrefied, fiction early readers for K-3 (for ease of access)
• Genrefied, fiction and some sections of non-fiction for 3-6th grades. For example, all sports fiction, sits next to all sports non-fiction titles. (for ease of access)

We are having fun checking books out and building our library community through an array of picture books discussions Here are a few titles shared these past few weeks:

 Summer Reading Programs & Lists
Keep your students reading daily by taking advantage of these great resources!

• Santa Barbara Public Library - check out their monthly calendar of literacy rich activities & programs, plus audio and print books!
• MUS Library Website Reading Lists - Newberry Medal, Caldecott Medal, Pura Belpre Medal, STEAM, CYRM Medal etc...
• MUS Audio Books - Students in grades 3-6 may log in using their Google ID and birthday to check out audio books throughout the summer!
• Haislin - Grade Level Reading Lists (compiled by teachers & librarians)
• Battle of the Books - Students in grades 3-6, get a jump start on this reading list and join us in the fall for our Battle of the Books MUS Club!
• Summer Reading Challenge - Students have been given the Summer Reading Challenge (yellow) card below, to use as a bookmark or post somewhere visible as a fun way to keep reading fresh and fun! 

Enjoy and have a wonderful summer!

Our "Poem in Your Pocket & Poetry Jam" was a hit! We were delighted to watch students and staff exchange a range of meaningful poems with one another throughout the day. And the lunchtime Poetry Jam was filled to the brim with student and staff participants! Poetry is such a fun way to extend and enrich literacy! We're looking forward to next year!

Direct Relief caught wind of our 6th grade collaboration with the Peace Crane Program and Ukrainian Refugees in Poland and Romania and offered to fly our letters and peace cranes with their next batch of support supplies. This effort not only enriched student's current activism unit of study, but it also supported our Habits of Mind "Empathy" tenets as well as our strategic plan initiative 1C. - collaborate and contribute to local and global communities to promote learning, leadership, and activism through service. Help students develop and display empathy and an understanding of various generations, schools, languages, and cultures. Go Mustangs!

April is National Poetry Month! Inspired by Santa Barbara spring, April showers, our nature lab and Earth Day, Mustangs have been writing an array of poems in the library as well as in class. Additionally, our students have been writing poems with our talented Santa Barbara County poet laureates.  On April 28th, the library will host a "Poem in Your Pocket Day" and a lunch time open microphone, "Poetry Jam." Students are encouraged to wear an outfit with a pocket or two. They will select one or two of their favorite poems, place them in their pocket and throughout the day, exchange a poetry reading with other students or staff members. 
On another note, our 6th grade students participated in the Peace Crane Project. This organization promotes global peace by connecting students around the world through origami peace cranes and letter exchanges in effort to learn about one another's culture, geography and language. Disney illustrator, author and Founder of the Peace Crane Project, Sue DiCicco-Smith shared her career path while guiding students through a Micky Mouse sketch and led them in folding origami peace cranes for Ukrainian refugees currently living in Poland and Romania. During library time, students wrote letters of support to accompany their crane.