Davis Reading Fair 2015

Friday, October 23, began phase one in the MS Department of Education's Reading Fair- the school-wide fair. We had wonderful judges who volunteered their time away from their life and jobs to help us on this big day. Our school adopters, Dale Partners, as well as other friends and community members came out and gave the students their time and energy. They all commented afterward about how amazing the projects were! It was very obvious that Davis students enjoy reading and enjoy sharing what they've read with others. Phase two is the district reading fair which will take place for our first place winners on November 4.

Thank you to all who assisted in making our school-wide fair a success, with a big special thanks to our fabulous Open Doors teachers who helped set and so much more. What a great day!

Non-fiction division - 1st place winner

I've had a request to get this for the library! 

Amanda Markow, from Dale Partners, discussing the Wright's family project.

What an adorable 1st grade Fancy Nancy! 

Pete the Cat - grade 1

Stick Dog - grade 2

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs! 5th grade project

Lon Po Po - 3rd grade project

4th grade non-fiction project

We were so pleased to have such great judges!

Public School Superhero - 4th grade project

Inquiry in the Library

The third, fourth, and fifth grade classes have been very busy in the library during our first IB unit of inquiry. The third graders used atlases to locate a community somewhere in the world and then they researched their own questions about these communities using the reference section of the library and online resources in our how we organize ourselves unit of inquiry. The fourth graders have used the reference section and online resources to learn more about our place in the world with the culmination of a timeline of historical events in our where we are in place and time unit. The fifth graders have learned more about themselves by studying and reflecting their strengths and unique intelligences using Howard Gardner's multiple intelligence theory for their who we are unit of inquiry. All the while, they've all been reading, checking in and out books, taking AR quizzes, and keeping up with their AR goals. (Parents, remember to check AR Home Connect to monitor your child's AR goals! The link is on the right.)

Enjoy seeing pictures of our progress!

4th graders researching events.

Learning about the Hubble Space Telescope!

3rd graders looking in the reference section for books on countries.

3rd grade final product... we'll add more work when more is completed.

Rylie was pleased to see her work up!

The beginning of our timeline starts with the sun's beginning.

4th graders seeing the timeline actualized. 

5th graders had to turn percentages into degrees
and create a pie chart to graph our results!

Sorting students into their top intelligence.

These two helped organize our final product. They typed and printed
and double checked to make sure it was all correct. Great work!

5th grade final product.

Sorry for so many pictures but there was such great work going on!

Summer Reading Celebration 2015

Davis Magnet IB World School is such a great place to be for a librarian! I love that our students are readers and thinkers and doers! Davis was recognized at the JPS Summer Reading Celebration for being the elementary school with the highest amount of readers this summer. We had 210 students counted as "readers" and our students read and summarized a total of 4,667 books this summer! Our fabulous parents know that reading over the summer helps prevent the summer slide  (the slipping of knowledge over a long holiday) and they have really help our students be ready for the beginning of this school year. 

Students who read and wrote journal entries (logs) for 3 books participated in a school dance, students who completed 9 received a blue jean pass for the dance day, and students who completed 20 were invited to the JPS celebration at the MS Children's Museum. We had 132 students who were eligible for this last honor! The museum was a sea of Davis Magnet shirts and faces! Students ran all around the museum, danced in the party room, and ate cake provided by the Junior League. We had a fun evening! See some pictures of our fun below.

Sydnee was the top reader for the elementary division!
She was awarded a Kindle for her effort!

The boys were excited to be celebrating together!

Brandon, Madison, Khloe, and Sydnee were all recognized for
reading over 100 books each!

Davis 5th graders doing the whip!

It feels like we're at school with the capitol as our backdrop!
It's like looking out of the window on the 4th grade end of the hall. 

Open House 2015

Welcome back to the 2015-2016 school year! Sometimes it's difficult to accept an end to summer break and the beginning of a new school year, but having Open House always gets me excited about being back at Davis. It was great to see how much our students have grown, see some of our former students with their younger siblings, and meet students who are new to Davis. Students were excited to see old friends and meet new ones, discover who their new teachers are, and visit with their previous teachers. Seeing all these smiling faces brings joy to my heart and makes me excited about the new school year. 

Enjoy seeing our Davis smiles. 

-Ms. Hellings

Book Fair!

The library was abuzz today with excitement about the first day of the Book Fair! It was so fun to see the students' faces light up with delight as they walked in to see all the wonderful books that are for sale this week. There are chapter books, Lego books, non-fiction selections, easy picture books, as well as bookmarks, posters, and pens to choose from.
This is PTA's Take Your Family to School Week and the Book Fair will be open from 5-6 on Tuesday before the Talent Show, on Wednesday before the Dinner at Davis (originally scheduled for Monday), and before the PTA meeting on Thursday. Before you head to Davis, download the Scholastic Book Fair app so you can read book summaries, check AR levels, and create a book wish list for titles found at our school fair. The app also links to the Book Fair website where you can purchase books online and have them sent directly to the school without a shipping charge! Plus you can shop online until February 28! Here's a direct link to the online book fair.

I am very grateful to those who have volunteered to help. Together we are making a great experience for our children!

I look forward to seeing you at the Davis Book Fair!

Making a wish list!

We accept cash, check, and credit card.