[LM_NET] NYS - CHildren's Book Week

[Molly Clark <mclark2@PHOENIX.K12.NY.US>]

Hello friends,

The recent requests for ideas for celebrating Children's Book Week have prompted 
this question especially for my fellow NYS elementary librarians.

For the past few years we've celebrated CBW with a different theme for each day.  
Things like, "Slip into a good book"  And the kids wore slippers that day, cuddle 
up with a book and the brought a favorite stuffed animal; READ - wear clothes with 
writing on it - you get the idea.

Well, most of the school enjoys it, but the fifth grade teachers have gottne 
progressively grumpier each year to the point this year where they have asked the 
CBW be celebrated a different week.  Why?  Because of the NYS Social Studies test. 
A vocal group of fifth grade teachers feel this entire week creates a distraction 
from the test.  

I have always been careful to keep the days of the test very low key.  Last year 
one day was the wear clothes with words and the other was stuffed animal day, with 
the idea being that the animals would stay in the cubbies during the test for the 
few fifth grader expected to participate.  We sort of expected that mainly the 
primary grade kids would do that.  Unfortunately, most of the 5th grade teachers 
told their students they could not bring animals that day.  A couple allowed  the 
animals, very few kids brought them, and they were in the cubbies during the test.  
The year before we had crazy sock day on one of the test days.

My question is, what do NYS librarians do for CBW since it ALWAYS falls the same 
week as the state test?  Do you celebrate a different week?

For what it's worth, the rest of the school seems to enjoy the weeklong 
celebration.  

Thanks in advance for your ideas.

~Molly





Molly Clark
Intermediate Librarian
Michael Maroun Elementary School
Phoenix, NY
mclark2@phoenix.k12.ny.us

"What a school thinks about its library, is a measure of what it thinks 
about education."  Harold Howe, former U.S. Commissioner of Education

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