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posted by: Mashburn, Noelle B - MNPS at Oct 05, 2012 11:21:00 AM
From Tennessee’s First Lady Crissy Haslam to News 2 Meteorologist Justin Bruce, Metro elementary school students had some very special guest readers to help celebrate Jump Start’s Read for the Record Day! Thursday, Oct. 4, students throughout Metro joined millions across the nation in reading Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad by David Soman and Jacky Davis.
At Neely’s Bend Elementary, the school’s literacy coach Patti Taylor dressed in full character to read to her students. Inglewood students enjoyed a special reading by First Lady Haslam. Justin Bruce read at Napier Enhanced Option, and MNPS Chief Operating Officer Fred Carr shared the story with students at Eakin.
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posted by: Bass, Joseph A - MNPS at Sep 19, 2012 11:35:00 AM
The Nashville Public Library Foundation invites all Davidson County High School students (ages 13-18) to submit a very short story in honor of the 2012 Nashville Public Library Literary Award recipient, Margaret Atwood.
About the contest
Students are asked to write an original and creative story of no less than 5 and no more than 10 sentences inspired by Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale or this photo:
Three finalists and the winner will be honored at the Literary Award Public Reading on October 27. One winner will receive the grand prize of a Kindle and $50 Amazon gift card. Finalist stories will be published on the Nashville Public Library Foundation website.
View complete rules and entry guidelines.
Entries will be accepted
September 20 – October 4, 2012
Entries may be submitted online
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/P6JNHSF
OR
Mail one printed copy of submission to:
Nashville Public Library Foundation
Essay Contest
615 Church Street
Nashville, TN 37219
Handwritten entries will not be considered. Finalists will be notified beforehand. Winners will be announced at the NPLF Literary Award Public Reading on Saturday, October 27. Contact Stephanie.Koehler@nplf.org with questions.
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posted by: Mashburn, Noelle B - MNPS at Aug 17, 2012 9:42:00 AM
Students and staff at Hattie Cotton STEM Magnet Elementary are getting into character this school year! Tuesday, August 14 Hattie Cotton STEM Magnet Elementary’s staff dressed up as book characters to kick off the first nine-week theme of “Friends Far and Near”. At the end of the nine weeks each classroom will have completed a class book that will be displayed at the East Nashville Public Library. The books will be used to teach the community about various literary styles.
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posted by: Bass, Joseph A - MNPS at Jul 27, 2012 2:28:00 PM
The Middle Tennessee Reading Association is the local council affiliate of the Tennessee Reading Association. Several Metro School teachers hold positions with the association.
- Angel Viera, literacy coach at J.E. Moss Elementary, has been named the 2012-2013 President-Elect of the Tennessee Reading Association.
- Melanie Collins, teacher at Bordeaux Enhanced Option Elementary, assumed the office of Vice President of the Tennessee Reading Association for the 2012-2013 school term. Collins will become President-Elect during the 2013-2014 school year. She is also serving as Middle Tennessee Reading Association treasurer.
- Sandra Smith-Hitt, teacher at Robert Churchwell Elementary, will serve as the 2012-2013 Treasurer of the Tennessee Reading Association.
- Anita Armstrong, literacy coach at Cole Elementary, is serving Tennessee Reading Association as the 2012-2013 Recording Secretary.
- Holly Perez, teacher at Donelson Middle School, is the president of Middle Tennessee Reading Association for 2012-2013.
- Jana Crosby is the new state coordinator for the Tennessee Reading Association charged with overseeing and planning many activities for our association.
- Eileen Steeples of Robert Churchwell is serving as membership chair for Middle Tennessee Reading Association.
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posted by: Bass, Joseph A - MNPS at Apr 10, 2012 11:51:00 AM
 April is School Library Month!
Nashville's Limitless Libraries program wants you to know that "You Belong @ Your School Library" by hosting contests this month. The grand prize? A new iPad!
It's kind of like a scavenger hunt in your library. You'll have a set of challenges you must complete in your library, like checking out a non-fiction book or paying off all of your fines. Check off each challenge on the form and you could win.
There are separate contests for high school students and middle school students, and only students at schools participating in Limitless Libraries are eligible. If you have any questions, just ask your school librarian.
High School Challenge
- DOWNLOAD the challenge form.
- Complete all ten challenges (including signatures for each one) by April 27.
- Turn in your form to your school librarian by April 30.
Middle School Challenge
- DOWNLOAD the challenge form.
- Complete all fifteen challenges (including signatures for each one) by April 27.
- Turn in your form to your school librarian by April 30.
- BONUS: Design a Limitless Libraries Bookmark! Your school librarian will choose a schoolwide winner. The folk at Limitless Libraries will choose an overall winner. That lucky artist will get to help design next year's Limitless Libraries Bookmark!
There's much more information on these contests and the Limitless Libraries program on their website. Check it out! (Pun intended.)
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posted by: Mashburn, Noelle B - MNPS at Feb 28, 2012 2:00:00 PM
In honor of Read Me Week (Napier event pictured right) and Read Across America, Metro Schools will be privy to a  slew of guest readers and special events! Here’s a peak at what’s going on this week to recognize the importance of reading and to celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday: Kindergarteners at A.Z. Kelley Elementary will celebrate the week with dress up days. Friday, in honor of Dr. Seuss's big day, the cafeteria staff will serve green eggs and ham for breakfast! Nashville Mayor Karl Dean will visit Buena Vista Enhanced Option Elementary Wednesday, Feb. 29 and enjoy lunch with the third grade. Mayor Dean will visit Charlotte Park Elementary Friday, March 2 and read to students. Cole Elementary will open its doors to dozens of guest readers who will share their favorite stories with the students. Mayor Dean will visit Glenn Enhanced Option Elementary Wednesday, Feb. 29 and read to students. Glengarry Elementary will celebrate the week with theme days and several guest readers. Homeroom teachers are encouraged to spend the last 15 minutes of the day in “Drop Everything and Read” (DEAR) sessions. Pencil partners from University of Phoenix, Principal Laurie Smith, and other school leaders will share their love of reading with the children at Glengarry. At Harris-Hillman School, students and staff will celebrate with three special events. March 2, the school will welcome and enjoy the reading of special guest and singer Ginny Owens in the school library at 9:30 am.Bringing Books to Life will perform a puppet show March 5, at 12:30, and again March 6, at 1 p.m. Friday, March 2, First Lady of Tennessee Crissy Haslam will visit Joelton Elementary and read a story to the students. Murrell School will be celebrating Read Across America on Friday, March 2. Students will be allowed to dress out of their standard attire, donning pj’s or sweats. All students and staff will read silently in their classroom their favorite story or book from 9 – 9:30 a.m., while sipping hot cocoa. Paragon Mills Elementary will celebrate Read Across America Week in style. The school will have a special spirit activity each day. Wednesday, Feb. 29, roughly 20 guests, and former Paragon Mills’ teachers, will visit and read to the students! They will team up with guest readers from Regions Bank and Ford Motor, the latter of whom will also give each child a bookmark. Friday, March 2, 210 students from David Lipscomb Middle School will visit. They will read to every class, present some books for each classroom library, and celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday by delivering a cookie to each student in honor of his birthday. And did we mention the teachers will all be dressed as the Cat in the Hat? Rosebank Elementary will celebrate with Read-A-Palooza. Each day students and staff will participate in a “fun” days that will celebrate reading. Thursday evening, March 1, students and families are invited to Read-A-Palooza that will feature a variety of celebrity readers including Mayor Karl Dean, Tooth Fairy Mary, and the MOMS group of East Nashville! A light dinner will be served, followed by reading, games and the distribution of free books. Mayor Dean will visit Whitsitt Elementary Thursday, March 1 and read to students.  The Academy, located at Hickory Hollow, Spanish 1 and 2 combined classes will read “Huevos verdes con jamón” in honor of Dr Seuss.
Last week, to help kick off the weeklong celebration, Book’em hosted Read Me Day at Kirkpatrick Enhanced Option Elementary. In a special assembly, students heard the benefits of reading from several area dignitaries, including Mayor Dean, MNPS Director of Schools Dr. Jesse Register, Janet Ivey of Janet’s Planet, Miss Black Tennessee Natalie Newbill, Judge Mike Jameson, Nashville Ballet representatives, and even some Tennessee Titans’ cheerleaders.
Special guests including MNPS Chief Operating Officer Fred Carr and MNEA President Stephen Henry visited Napier Elementary where students got to see a special sneak peak at the new Lorax movie.
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posted by: Mashburn, Noelle B - MNPS at Feb 16, 2012 11:34:00 AM
"It's all up to me" was the theme of a recent visit from Moozie, the ambassador of kindness for the Children's Kindness Network, at Fall-Hamilton Enhanced Option Elementary. Students heard a story from the beloved character, and those who shared how they have been kind received a free copy of "Moozie's Kind Adventure"! Also included with the book was a CD of the book being read by Larry Gatlin who was backed up by he 90-piece orchestra fro Arizona State University.
This was the third year Moozie visited Fall-Hamilton.
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posted by: Mashburn, Noelle B - MNPS at Jan 27, 2012 12:42:00 PM
This winter, Tusculum Elementary and Warner Enhanced Option Elementary split a donation of 2,800 books and $14,000 in money thanks to Barnes & Noble and City National Bank. The donations were the result of the Holiday Book Drive at Barnes & Noble. Read the full release below.
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posted by: Mashburn, Noelle B - MNPS at Nov 17, 2011 2:39:00 PM
To recognize longtime Library Director Donna Nicely, Metro Nashville Board of Education saluted her outstanding service. MNPS Lead Librarian Kathy Bennett offered the following:
Librarian Donna Nicely recently retired after 16 years as library director of the Nashville Public Library. This evening we get to say thank you – in a formal way – for all that she has done for the students and teachers of our public schools.
Donna Nicely is an adventurer, a visionary you might say, with the ability to see what might be and the courage to put it into action. Partnering with Mayor Dean and Dr. Register, she guided the creation of Limitless Libraries. Starting with five pilot high school libraries, the program now includes all middle and high school libraries. With special funds provided by the city’s budget, thousands of new items have been added to our middle and high school libraries, including DVDs, books on CD and play-aways. Thanks to the new materials, and a Limitless Libraries goal of 12 good items per student in each school, book circulation in high school libraries soared, in some cases with an increase of over 100%.
Limitless Libraries, under Donna Nicely’s leadership, is a model of resource sharing on many levels, including skills and materials. More than 23,000 MNPS students are registered as LL users. These students can request a book from the public library online – and have it delivered to their schools, opening up the public library to those who might lack transportation or time. In fact, the circulation of public library materials delivered to metro school students exceeded several of the public library branches in the month of October. School librarians now repeat the mantra – no more excuses! to the students who say they cannot complete an assignment. Numbers don’t say it all, however. Our metro students are truly becoming lifelong library users with their ability to access resources from all over the city. The practice of discovering what they want (or need) leads all students on the road to becoming independent researchers.
Donna Nicely has fielded calls from city leaders and librarians from all over the country asking about how Limitless Libraries can work in their hometowns. City governments are intrigued with the potential for sharing resources; public libraries see the benefits of serving students where they are, and school libraries clearly see the benefit of easily accessing public library resources. This list of contributions brings to mind a quote from Robert F. Kennedy, who said, “There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why... I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?”
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posted by: Powell, Matia - MNPS at Oct 07, 2011 4:33:00 PM
Wednesday, Oct. 5, thousands of students, staff and community members participated in Walk to School Day and helped shine a light on the importance of healthy living. See photos of the crowds, Mayor Dean, Associate Superintendent of Middle Schools Dr. Lora Hall, Dr. Bill Paul of Metro Health Department, the McGavock High Show Choir and AFJROTC, and much more!
View photos for Walk to School.
The next day, Oct. 6, students in many of our elementary schools set out toRead for the Record. Some enjoyed the likes of Curious George, while others visited with a real life llama. See it all here.
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posted by: Bass, Joseph A - MNPS at Oct 06, 2011 9:50:00 AM
 Time and time again, research shows children who struggle with reading in third grade will continue to struggle in school and have a greatly reduced chance of graduating from high school.
But we can all help turn this around - teachers, parents and everyone else - thanks to a wealth of new resources from the Tennessee Department of Education. ReadTennessee.org helps us all understand the new standards for reading in elementary school and gives ideas for helping to meet them.
You don't have to be a professional educator or understand the jargon of pedagogy to help out. Cruising through the website, I see reading toolkits for both teachers and families. The reading standards are easily available from the homepage and written in language we can all understand. There is even an area set aside for those who want to volunteer as reading tutors.
Tennessee's First Lady Crissy Haslam says in her welcome message:
Thank you for visiting the home of Read Tennessee, a joint project designed to allow teachers, families and community members to work together for the benefit of young children throughout the state of Tennessee. We encourage you to explore our website to take advantage of the information provided to help accelerate the learning of Tennessee's most important resource, our children. | ReadTennessee.org is meant to get us all working together for the benefit of our students, so head on over and check it out. There are ways for all of us to help!
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posted by: Mashburn, Noelle B - MNPS at Oct 05, 2011 2:04:00 PM
Nashville Public Libraries will be holding Teen Read Week from Oct. 9 - 22. Teens who spend at least two hours reading in any Nashville Public Library, or any MNPS middle school or high school library, can "read off" their library fines! Students must be between the ages of 12 and 18 and must have their own library card to participate. Visit the Library's Teen Web to learn much more about this opportunity. It's also time for students interested to write and submit nonfiction essays to the Teen Literary Contest. This year's theme is "Books are only half the story." Essays must be 500 words and are due Nov. 12. The winner gets an iPad 2. More details for this essay contest are available on the NPL website. This year's contest is in honor of the 2011 Nashville Public Library Literary Award Recipient, John McPhee.
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posted by: Mashburn, Noelle B - MNPS at Oct 05, 2011 1:55:00 PM
First Lady Crissy Haslam read “Llama, Llama, Red Pajama” to a Pre-K class at Napier Elementary School today in advance of tomorrow’s Read for the Record Day.
Read for the Record Day is a national event aimed at encouraging students to read. Students throughout MNPS elementary schools will enjoy guests readings and special visitors throughout the day.
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posted by: Mashburn, Noelle B - MNPS at Oct 05, 2011 12:10:00 PM
Limitless Libraries, an online book-sharing program initiated by Nashville Mayor Karl Dean in 2009, keeps on growing! This year, the program has expanded to include middle schools, bringing the total number of eligible schools to 54.
Limitless Libraries currently has 23,000 users, more than a quarter of Metro School's 79,000 students. Circulation at high schools rose as much as 125% at certain locations last year. The goal for this year is to give schools:
- at least nine good items per student
- an AV collection including play-aways and DVD’s for students to checkout
- access to expanded eBook and electronic resources.
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posted by: Mashburn, Noelle B - MNPS at Oct 03, 2011 1:57:00 PM
Kirkpatrick Enhanced Option Elementary is diving right into Read Me Week, with five days full of fun reading activities. Students will read a different book from the popular "Llama, Llama" series each day and participate in dress up days and special learning projects. Guest readers including WSMV's Jonathan Martin, MNPS Director of Schools' Dr. Jesse Register, and a team of readers from local colleges and corporations will visit the school and read to kindergarteners. Thursday, the school will join in a national effort to set a reading record by reading the hit book "Llama Llama Red Pajamas." To help them with the feat, Pearl, a real-life llama friend, will make a special guest appearance.
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posted by: Mashburn, Noelle B - MNPS at Sep 30, 2011 9:29:00 AM
Next week, schools throughout Metro, schools will help Jumpstart reading! Director of Schools Dr. Jesse Register and Nashville Mayor Karl Dean will be among several guests reading to students.
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posted by: Bass, Joseph A - MNPS at Sep 23, 2011 1:39:00 PM
If you're not hard at work with Hands on Nashville Day, take the kids down to the Parthenon for Celebrity Storytelling!
Each Saturday morning a different local celeb will read a 20 minute story of Greek Mythology at the feet of the golden statue of Athena in the main room of the Parthenon. Following the reading, a Parthenon intern will offer an activity to enhance the reading, as recommended by the National Reading Panel.
Here's the best part: It's 100% free and families who attend can stay and enjoy the Parthenon afterward!
This week's celebs are Woody & Jim from 107.5 The River. Upcoming stars include news anchor Demetria Kalodimos, the Nashville Symphony's Giancarlo Guerrero and country singer Ketch Secor.
The program will continue every Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. from now until November 12. Full details in the flier below.
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posted by: Mashburn, Noelle B - MNPS at Jun 08, 2011 2:36:00 PM
Four MNPS middle schools -- Goodlettsville, Cameron, John Early Magnet, and Meigs Magnet – piloted a new Battle of the Books competition this year. Each school convened teams of four to five students each, who voluntarily read 20 books. Each school then held individual competitions to find a school-level winning team. These teams met Tuesday, May 17, at the Downtown Public Library for the first ever MNPS Battle of the Books! Check out the video.
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