Congratulations to the Winners of our Fall 2011 Elementary National Contest!
Our first-place winner and recipient of a visit from best-selling author R.L. Stine plus 2,000 Scholastic Dollars™is:
Union Elementary School
Chairperson: Heather Brown
Temple, GA
Union Elementary School did everything possible to make their fall 2011 Book Fair their best ever. The first thing they did was set a goal for books sold, accompanied by a What Would You Do For Reading® challenge. One of their popular administrators agreed to be slimed with green space slime if the goal was met. The class purchasing the most books from the Fair would receive the honor of making the slime. A second challenge awarded an astronaut ice cream and Tang party to the class that collected the most donations for One for Books®.
To generate interest in the Book Fair and theme, students participated in an art and writing “Meet My Alien” contest. More than 120 3-D projects were displayed throughout the library during the Fair. Teachers participated in their own door-decorating contest.
Family Night was a huge success. Planetary pizza, cosmic cookies, and Saturn soda were served. A walk-in space lab was provided by a local university, and students enjoyed viewing many science experiments. To hype up the grand event, a magician did a short presentation at a daytime assembly, then told students they could see the rest if they came back later that night with their grands. While grands and students were entertained and shopped the Book Fair, parents attended a Read and Rise® Literacy program. The school’s first ever Muffins for Moms and Donuts for Dads events were also a big success.
Parent volunteers helped make decorations and conducted Book Talks. Junior Crew members created signage and helped every morning for two weeks prior to the Fair.
The last day of the Fair featured astronaut and alien dress-up day and a visit by two NASA engineers. The science team made alien rockets, which were launched back to their home planets. The finale was pouring alien slime on the assistant principal.
Congratulations to students, staff, parents, and special guests for making this Union Elementary School’s best Book Fair ever!
Second-place winners of 1,000 Scholastic Dollars are:
St. Timothy's Lutheran School
Chairperson: Christine Hindenes
San Jose, CA
St. Timothy’s Lutheran School used the space theme and the Book Fair to launch a month of learning about space and astronauts. Classes made art projects featuring planets, stars, astronauts, satellites, and robots. Mission Control was created and black light paint was used to create a night sky. Students earned credit for the Book Fair by participating in a “Run for Reading” activity funded by the P.E. teacher. As students ran laps, they earned “book bucks” toward the purchase of a book at the Fair. The music teacher worked with fifth grade students to perform a song called “I Think My School’s a Spaceship” during the Family Event. Grandparents day was an opportunity for grands to shop with their students and snuggle up and read on a cold day. Each class had its own special shopping time throughout the day, and coffee and snacks were served to the grand visitors. One for Books donations were used to purchase books for a local organization dedicated to giving new moms and babies a fresh start. More than $600 was raised to buy books for these families.
Millersville Elementary School
Chairperson: Lori Skalitzky
Millersville, MD
Millersville Elementary School launched their fall Book Fair with a communications and marketing blitz that let everyone know that the school was invaded by aliens. UFOs were strategically placed in the school’s front yard and surrounded by caution tape so that the scene looked like a crash landing. Handmade signs outside and in promoted the Fair, Family Night, One for Books, and reading. The alien invasion continued inside as UFOs, astronauts, robots, and aliens decorated the hallways and library. A detailed flyer of Fair events and activities was distributed to all teachers and included an invitation to the Teacher Sneak Peek. The Family Event was held in conjunction with the school’s annual Fall Festival. Students were invited to attend in costume for a chance to win raffle prizes. Flyers were sent home to families, and every student was sent home with reminder stickers attached to clothing or planners on the day of the event. One for Books became a classroom “Race Through Outer Space” with classes competing to see which could collect the most donations. The top class earned the chance to slime the space invader (their principal), and receive the coveted One for Books trophy. The result was an additional 200 books purchased from the Fair for disadvantaged students, classrooms, and the media center.
Jo Ann Ford Elementary School
Chairperson: Lynda Bishop
Georgetown, TX
The primary goal of the Jo Ann Ford Elementary School Book Fair was to get books into the hands of students, both at the school, and in Bastrop, Texas. Bastrop is a small town an hour south that was devastated by last year’s wildfires. More than 1,500 homes were destroyed. The school created a “Books for Bastrop” drive for families to purchase books at the Fair and donate them to Bastrop students. They surpassed their initial goal and 209 books were donated and given directly to Bastrop students. One for Books funds were collected in the community, which raised more money to purchase books to replace those lost in the fires. The school also wanted to increase student and staff participation in the Fair. They had 78 students take leadership roles in the Fair. Parent volunteers also contributed, and 48 students helped in some aspect of the Fair. Decorations featuring day-glow aliens on black paper filled the hallways and the Fair. To enter the library, students had to pass through the open mouth of a large spotted alien! Having met the first two goals, the last goal was easy: earning Scholastic Dollars™ to support the school’s library.
Coconut Palm Elementary School
Chairperson: Leticia Llorens
Miramar, FL
“Welcome to Starship Cocoprise” was the theme for the Coconut Palm Elementary School fall Book Fair. A Teacher Preview filled with yummy alien-themed treats started off the week’s events. Each teacher who attended filled out Classroom Wish Lists and was entered into a drawing to win prizes. Classes participated in a book-themed spaceship poster contest. The entries were used to decorate the school hallways. Other alien and outer space decorations filled the school from floor to ceiling. During Family Night, each student was issued a passport. Each time a student completed a task, a sticker was placed in the booklet. More than 500 passports were turned in for a chance at winning raffles. Teachers and students all dressed in costume for the space theme and the featured event was a “Men in Black” dance performance featuring dozens of students from several classes.
Click here to see who won the President’s Award for Exceptional Performance.
President's Award for Exceptional Performance winners (who win 500 Scholastic Dollars) are:
King's Ridge Christian School
Chairperson: Jen Mills & Jen Myers
Alpharetta, GA
President's Award for Exceptional Performance (Theme):
Students, faculty, and volunteers embraced the space theme and used it to make their fall Book Fair a unique experience. Volunteers created library doors covered in shimmering metallic paper, positioned an astronaut floating in the atrium, and decorated the main hallway with planets and amazing space facts and trivia. The front desk was transformed into an “Extraterrestrial Welcome Center,” and the library morphed into the “Meteor Center.” Even the Classroom Wish List became a display of silver rockets. Original alien artwork was created by students in grades 3-5 and used to decorate the Fair and the school. Third graders also created magazines for alien visitors describing life on Earth. The media specialist dressed in costume as Mrs. Milky Way, and passed out bookmarks containing images of her alter ego and reading messages. The Fair opened with a school-wide assembly followed by a Book Fair Parade of students dressed in costumes matching the theme of their favorite class book. The theme united the school community, and together they raised more than $1,200 in One for Books donations to buy books for a school in Hackleburg, AL that was destroyed when a tornado struck last April.
Woodward North Academy
Chairperson: Michelle Rosenthal
Duluth, GA
President's Award for Exceptional Performance (Decorations):
The school enlisted a decoration team of parent volunteers to transform their entire front office, computer lab, library, and hallways into an outer space world. Hallways were decorated to look like the inside of a spacecraft. Once shoppers entered through the “airlock” doors, they were transported to “outer space.” Library walls were covered in black, and doors were covered in silver insulation and other props. “Flying” around the space were five large mothership UFOs, hundreds of smaller UFOs, floating aliens, the solar system, and a rocket. Third graders had just finished a solar system unit and these projects were added to the décor. The theme was carried into table merchandising: tables, carts, and boxes were all wrapped with blue and green with added CAUTION tape. The decorations were awe inspiring, and created an out of this world buzz among students.
J. V. Washam Elementary School
Chairperson: Mari Kirchner
Cornelius, NC
President’s Award for Exceptional Performance (Student Engagement):
To engage students, a “Count Down to the Book Fair” was created on the school website informing visitors of all the activities happening during the Book Fair. The space theme was used as a way for students to discuss future ambitions and aspirations through a writing assignment. The results were posted on the “Washam Wall of Wishes” at the entrance of the school. A kick- off assembly was held featuring the mascot of the local NBA team, who led the students through a literacy-based program focused on reading every day. The principal and assistant principal participated in a boys vs. girls One for Books challenge that got all students excited about the loose change drive. Everyone agreed it was a space-tacular event!
Cardinal Elementary School
Chairperson: Heather Smith
Eldon, IA
President's Award for Exceptional Performance (Principal/Faculty Involvement):
The superintendent of the school district let it be known that the main focus of the Book Fair was “getting everyone excited about reading.” The faculty and staff of Cardinal Elementary School did just that. For the first time ever the school held a kick-off assembly, teacher sneak peek, collected One for Books donations, and made sure the number one goal was achieved: to put a book in EVERY student’s hand. At the kick-off rally, teachers participated in an Alien Dress- Up Relay, and students cheered for each team. As a reward for reaching the Book Fair goal, the principal went to each classroom and let them dress her as an alien. One class even contributed holiday lights, which she plugged in at the final assembly. True to his word, even the superintendent got involved, taking time to visit and read aloud to a classroom.
Lakewood Elementary School
Chairperson: Renee Menckens
Myrtle Beach, SC
President's Award for Exceptional Performance (Family Event):
Focusing on family involvement paid off big for Lakewood Elementary School. They held their Fair during the annual Harvest Moon luncheon, which drew more than 700 parents who were then welcomed into the Book Fair, increasing traffic exponentially. Attendees were entered into drawings for prizes. A separate Family Night Event drew guests for more prize drawings, popcorn, face painting, and read-alouds in the library. As a result, Fair sales jumped 45% and students got to see parents become reading role models.
Ingomar Elementary School
Chairperson: Sue Pak
Pittsburgh, PA
President's Award for Exceptional Performance (One for Books®):
Ingomar Elementary School decided to collect One for Books donations to buy books for a nearby middle school library that lost its entire collection in a flood. They used a coin collection contest as a way to build excitement and spread the word about the activity. A flyer went home explaining the contest and the prizes: a chance for a popcorn and movie party for one class, and another prize of the principal switching places with a classroom teacher for the afternoon. On the first day, more than $500 was collected. Day by day the count grew and was updated on a goal chart in the school lobby. By the end of the Fair, students had raised an inspiring $1974 and thrilled the middle school librarian with all the wonderful new books.
Brighton Elementary School
Chairperson: Christy De Lashmit
Brighton, TN
President's Award for Exceptional Performance (What Would You Do for Reading?®):
Administrative support was essential to the success of Brighton Elementary School’s Book Fair, and they got a two-for-one deal when both principal and vice principal agreed to be part of the Book Fair challenge. The principal agreed to go to “jail” for a day, and the vice principal agreed to dress as a book character. To engage students, the principal built the jail outside the library and posted a “wanted” sign on it with his picture. Encouraged by the media specialist, students began looking for opportunities to earn extra money at home by doing extra chores and helping neighbors. Students met their goal and each administrator took their turn participating in their stunt. The vice principal was especially appealing in his Fancy Nancy outfit.
James Monroe Elementary School
Chairperson: Nathan Manderfeld
Bermuda Dunes, CA
President's Award for Exceptional Performance (Junior Crew):
The latest edition of Diary of a Wimpy Kid inspired a fourth grade class to hold a Book Fair at their school. They learned that their librarian didn’t have funds to buy new books, and had stopped holding Book Fairs because she didn’t get any help. The class stepped forward to organize, advertise, recruit, and run the Book Fair. An organizing committee was set up and they worked during Phys Ed time to research and plan the Fair. The class created a commercial to kick off the event and recruited parent volunteers to help set up when the Fair arrived. Students gave guided preview tours of the Fair and wore sandwich boards during lunches to spread the word. They participated in One for Books and raised funds to buy more books. Finally, students got the principal to agree that the top One for Books class could “pie” him. Because of the fourth grade class’ efforts, the Book Fair was a huge success. It promoted literacy, provided authentic learning by doing, and raised much needed money for the library.
