News From the Library--May 26, 2008

Arlington West Memorial Santa Barbara, California

Memorial Day
May 26, 2008

The memorial in Santa Barbara, California, which was first put together on November 2, 2003, is installed each Sunday by a team of volunteers on the beach immediately west of Stearns Wharf. Visitors walking to the tourist attractions on the wharf have a clear view, from the boardwalk, along the beach with the white crosses in the foreground. From the walkway, visitors can see a flag-draped coffin and more than 3,000 crosses, made of wood, which are intended to resemble and represent traditional military grave markers. In addition to the simulated graveyard, a placard listing all the fallen American military personnel since the U.S. invaded and occupied Iraq is prominently displayed; this list is updated weekly. Adjacent to the placards is a sign containing the message: "If we were to put up a cross for each Iraqi person killed, the numbers of crosses would fill the entire beach." (article from Wikipedia)

In the Library this week.....

Kindergarten--Barney Saltzerg's story Crazy Hair Day delighted Kindergarteners this week. Even though get the wrong day, his class rallies around him and and makes it a day he will never forget. This story combines both humor and the idea that being flexible in difficult situations is a great attribute. Having good friends and classmates helps too!

First Grade--Where does all the stuff in the Lost and Found end up? Mona, Floyd and Wendell are once again off on an adventure in Mark Teague's delightful fantasy, The Lost and Found. In addition to enjoying the story, first graders were urged to think about all the places their library books might be.....next week all books are due and hopefully none will find themselves in our Lost and Found!

Second Grade--Norvin, who looked a little like a shark and aspired to acting greatness, got a little greedy and wanted Caramel Cove all to himself for swimming. His acting abilities got him some attention he didn't really want (from a female shark!) and he learned that it might have been better to have shared the Cove with the other swimmers. Margaret Mahy's The Great White Man Eating Shark is always a hit with second graders.

Third Grade & Fourth Grade--third and fourth graders missed Library this week because of our (fabulous) Spring Sing.

Fifth Grade--We had a rousing game of Library Jeopardy this week. Can you do our daily double? The answer is: The first name of the man who invented the decimal number system for putting non-fiction books into categories.

Sixth Grade--We only had half and hour because of the Spring Sing so to cap off our gods and goddesses studies I read Persephone and the Pomegranate written and illustrated so beautifully by Kris Waldherr.


Next week is our last week of regularly schedule classes for the Library this year. Check under those beds and in the refrigerator (!) for those missing library books!!