That’s March Done

I looked up the phrase “In like a lion, out like a lamb” as having heard it many times, I wanted to learn more as March here in the library really was something; certainly more lion than lamb . Like many proverbs/folklore/sayings, the weather aspect of this one certainly fits in with the Northern Hemisphere rather than the Southern; I’m from Australia, I notice things like that.

We anticipate March and April being busy every year, ever since 2021 when we moved Cardboard Challenge from October 2020 to April 2021, it has meant several of our big events are held then. This season we have 3 weeks of Books to Eat, our visiting author Nikkolas Smith arriving for two weeks on April 14th, our 5th grade Battle of the Books on April 18th, and then 10 days to prepare for our 13th Cardboard Challenge on April 30th.

So by May, I’m not sure which animal we’ll be feeling like, but that month we’ll also be moving from Destiny to Oliver as our Library Management System and preparing for Summer Check Out. It is never dull in the library, we are very lucky.

For now, take a look at MOST of the entries for Books to Eat 2025. We had over 210 entries created by more than 250 students. The smell of sugar has gradually faded, but our memories of the creativity and culinary skills in our community remain.

Library News

Welcome to December. Thank you for all the excellent feedback we’ve received about our Visiting Author Elana K Arnold. We don’t have any authors with us now until late April, but there are still plenty of things going on in the library.

December 2nd– Celebrate that we have checked out over 28,000 books since school started in August. Yes, 28 THOUSAND.

December 17-Try to get as many of the 931 overdue books returned to the library before Winter Break. 

January 14th-March 5th Ms Stella and I will be running After School Activities for English and Chinese Panda Book Awards

March 6th-We host the Elementary division of Battle of the Books on Pudong Campus (more info to follow)

March 15th-April 15th-Voting for Panda Book Awards

April 13th, 20th and 27thBooks to Eat Competition in ES Library (more info to follow)

and THEN

April 20th-April 24th Le Uyen Pham and Meg Medina are on campus as cross divisional Visiting Authors and Illustrator

Libguides

You can find out more about Authors, Battle of the Books, Panda Books and Books to Eat by clicking on some of the links below. I have Libguides full of information for you to read, including photos of your students, our volunteers, and the wonderful books we are reading. 

Book Lists

If you are looking for some great holiday reading, there are plenty of links to ‘Best of’ Book lists on my 2019-2020 Award Winning Books or Book Lists Libguides. 

Remember to read for pleasure, read with your children, in front of your children and listen to your children read. That is what makes a reader a reader.

Remember to check out some photos of what happens every day in our Elementary Library, we have photos of our volunteers, our students and the books they read on our Welcome to the Elementary Library Libguide

Here are some links for you to check out more resources from our Elementary Library

Battle of the Books Libguide

Panda Books Libguide

Le Uyen Pham Visiting Author Libguide

Meg Medina Visiting Author Libguide

Battle of the Books Shanghai

In 8 weeks from now, 7 SAS Elementary Students from 5th grade, will join many Middle Schoolers from other International Schools in Shanghai to compete in Battle of the Books. Congratulations Roman, Leyee, Emily, Emma, Miranda, Rex and Bryan for taking on this responsibility.

We will be reading wonderful titles such as The War that Saved my Life, The Thing About Jellyfish, Fish in a Tree and Goodbye Stranger.

The philosophy of the Battle of the Books program is “to encourage reading by all students “.   Students, regardless of ability, are exposed to quality literature representing a variety of literary styles and viewpoints by prominent authors. The game format creates interest and excitement in reading.   Through the fun and excitement of the competition, students improve reading skills, mature in their choices of reading materials, and acquire a broader knowledge base.   Even during the height of the competition, students and coaches should remember that the goal is to READ, not necessarily to win!