Scholastic Book Fair is Coming Soon!

We all love the Scholastic Book Fair. I am happy to say that we will have two Scholastic Book Fairs this year. These fairs are incredible fundraisers for the Library and the school. I hope you guys are saving up your allowance to shop at the fair. Our goal with this fair is to earn another SMARTBOARD. I have a sneak peak of some of the books available coming home soon. You can pre-order by filling out the order form and returning it with payment in an envelope to your teacher. The books will be waiting for you when your class comes to the fair. As always, some of the books in the preview will not be availabe for sale do to content that conflicts with our school's values. PARENTS - I know you appreciate that! However, there will be SO many books to chose from at the fair that you won't even notice the ones not available.

Key Dates - BOOK FAIR September 8th - 10th, 8:30 until 3:30
PARENT NIGHT (Open House for Elementary) September 9th 7pm until 8pm

See you there!

P.S. How's your AR coming? Have you taken tests on summer reading yet? I know one third grader who has already earned a free Sprite in the Library. I am excited to see how everyone is doing this week. It's going to be a great year with lots of VIPs. I just feel it!

Summer is almost over!

Well - Summer is coming to an end. I am actually really excited about getting back to school. I hope you all are excited, too! Have you done your reading? If not, you still have a few more days. I am looking forward to everyone seeing all the wonderful improvements that have been done at KCS. We need to say a big thank you to Pastor Scott, Mrs. Boren, Pastor D, Lucinda, Sherra, and Lisa for all their hard work. They do it because they love you all so much. It is a blessing to be able to be a part of Knollwood Christian School. (Say a big thank your family for loving you enough to give you such a quality Christian education!) I can't wait to hear all about your Summer's. See you all very soon!

All God's Best,
Mrs. Casallo

What I'm Reading...

Hope you all are enjoying your summer so far. My children and I have been to the Mobile Public Library several times. We have rented Nim's Island and Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (both movies we loved!)and watched them both over and over. I have found several books that I know you will want to read. I finished one last night entitled Nory Ryan's Song. The story is written by Patricia Giff - the author who wrote Pictures of Hollis Woods. You 7th graders got to enjoy that book in 5th grade as well as watch the Hallmark Movie in 6th grade. Anyway...back to the story. It is about a little girl and her family and their struggle to survive during the famine in Ireland in the 1800's. There is a second book in the series entitled Maggie's Door which I am going to look for today. I highly recommend these books. They will make you appreciate all the blessings we take forgranted. I also finished The Boy Who Dared. It is a true story of a young German boy who tried to take a stand against Hitler. He was very courageous but it cost him his life. We have had this book in our library but I just got the chance to read it. I won't say this was a fun read but it was a very worthwhile read. It is important to hear these stories so that we will not let such horrors happen again. I promise my next few books will be more "fun".

The summer reading kickoff for the Mobile Public Library is this Saturday, June 5th from 10-12. I hope to see alot of my students there! Continue having a great summer. I miss you all!

All God's Best,
Mrs. Casallo

Classic Club Movie Party

We had a BLAST at the Classic Club Movie Party! We watched The Little Princess and The Count of Monte Cristo. I loved both movies but The Count of Monte Cristo was my favorite of the two. You can check out both movies at the Mobile Public Library for $1. Pastor Scott Williams brought us pizza. We also enjoyed cupcakes and soda. It was an all around fun time. I think anyone who got to attend would agree that the reading was well worth it. Sorry you missed it? Don't worry. You can attend the next movie party in August of next school year. All you have to do is read 3 classics and you will be able to attend. Remember if you read all 40 by the end of your career at KCS you will receive $100. READING IS FUN and REWARDING! The Classic List is under the Classic Tab at the top of the Blog. Head to your local Public Library and start today. Have a GREAT SUMMER! I will miss you all. All God's Best, Mrs. Casallo


In attendance - Sarah Bruton, Emily Whittington, Kelsey Fredelake, Bailey Sheffield, Mykia Buford, Shirin Kholafai, Marie Cybel Donjayawardena, Mandy Nettles, Camille Perry, Katherine Roubik, and Danielle Cenatus.

K5 Learning to Check Out Books

I have been working with the K5 the last two weeks teaching them how to check out books on their own. Up until this point, they have been checking out books I have pre-selected for them off the table. I am trying to get them ready for 1st grade. They have loved being able to select their own books and they have really done a fantastic job. I am so proud! I created a little movie about checking out books. Check it out and leave us a comment. The kids will be so excited to see you have watched it.

Classics Club

This year we started the Classics Club in the Library. Students in 4th through 8th grade can participate. In order to be a part of the club, you have to read 3 classics a quarter off a list of 40 classics selected by the Headmaster Pastor Scott Williams. If you meet this goal, you can attend a Classic's Club party. At the party, we watch classic movies, eat lunch, popcorn, candy, and have lots of fun. If the student reads all 40 classics on the list in their school career at KCS, they will receive 100!! The participation has been incredibly. We have enjoyed hearing students say things like, "I thought the classics were boring, but I was so wrong." It has truly sparked an interest for the classics in the students. I have asked some of my students to blog about the books they have read. Here are just a few. I hope you enjoy. Please comment and/or recommend other books they might enjoy. They would love to hear from you.

Nicholas Walton Review's O'Henry Short Stories

Hi! I am Nicholas Walton. I am in the the 6th grade. I am here to review about O'Henry Best Short Stories. This book was very good and I suggest that you read it. My favorite story was The Gift of the Magi. It was about a family. It was around Christmas time. They both needed to get a gift for each other. The husband had a beautiful watch. It was passed down from generation. The wife had beautiful hair. The wife wanted a combs, and the husband wanted a chain for his watch. It turned out the wife had cut off all her hair to get enough money for the chain. The husband had to sell his watch for the combs. When they gave each other their gift they told them what they had to give to get the preasent. They weren't mad at each other. They were happy that they would do so much to get the other a gift. The End. Before you get this book let me tell you most of these stories have a twisted ending. So I hope you enjoy it.