A Resource By and For Educators December 2012      No-Cost Program Helps Families Get Jump-Start on Kindergarten Scholastic Book Fairs' new, no-cost Kindergarten Readiness Program helps families prepare their children for the transition into kindergarten, supporting children's reading and learning success at school. 'This workshop really hammers home research-based information' >>   Feel Alone at the Top? Find a Community of Colleagues 24/7 This month Eye of the Storm author Kate Messner partners with contributor Dr. L. Robert Furman, author of Instructional Technology Tools: A Professional Development Plan, to share their insight into using Twitter as a professional development tool. Next month: Kate and Rob look at Twitter in the classroom. 'It's become this professional learning community' >>   Principal Helps Families Embrace Reading as Hope Against Poverty, Homelessness What Principal Carol Ann Darnell needed was courage and vision to reach a highly mobile student population whose parents are so bogged down in their economic reality that they struggle to support their children's educations. And she found it. 'Education is the way out of poverty' >>   Keep Students Reading Over Winter Break Keep students reading over winter break while helping to develop healthy lifelong habits. Check out the latest tips from teacher and author Donalyn Miller and longtime principal and literacy blogger Alyson Beecher. Help your students develop a reading plan >>   Spread the Word: Our Holiday Warehouse Book Sale is Here! The Scholastic Book Fairs Holiday Warehouse Book Sale is going on now. With special discounts of 25 percent to 80 percent off everything, this is one sale you and your staff don't want to miss! Plus, get an extra $10 or $25 off* when you sign up online. Get your coupon now! >> *$10 off your $50 purchase or $25 off your $100 purchase. Pass the savings on to your team. This sale is exclusively for educators, so invite your teachers, librarians, and school staff to take advantage of the savings. It's our way of saying thank you for your hard work in helping to create a lifelong love of reading in your students. Find a sale! >>   • Here are five things you can do today to get kids reading • Help students connect with other readers through their shared 'Bookprints' • Drop the Teacher Book Wizard widget on your school's homepage to help students find right-fit books   Now   Sign up to participate in the Harry Potter Book Club! Now-Mar 15   Enter the NAESP Foundation Third Annual National Children's Book of the Year Award Contest Now-June   Set and achieve reading goals for your students through Read 100,000 Starting June 25   Plan to attend a 2013 Scholastic Book Fairs Reading Summit for Educational Leaders near you July 10   Kick off the 2013 NAESP Conference at the Jeans and Jerseys Fundraiser July 11-13   Sign up now for the 2013 NAESP National Conference and Expo of the Year       • Scholastic to donate 1 million books to schools ravaged by Hurricane Sandy • Do excessive academic demands encourage students to cheat? • Scholastic products to help with the transition to Common Core State Standards • Follow Alyson Beecher's blog for tips on promoting literacy using titles from a variety of genres • Inspire and motivate young readers using best practices from Donalyn Miller • Take advantage of resources available through the NAESP