Ms. Nancy's Library & Technology Blog

This week’s library theme will be…

New & New to You.

Welcome back to school (soon). As I write this, it is Sunday night and little snow flurries are coming down, so I shouldn’t say “welcome back” just yet, eh?

This has been a crazy holiday break, no? Hope you had a chance to play (and play and play) in the snow and that you, your families and friends had a lot of fun. We had a good break at my house, but now I am ready to get back to school. How about you?

For this week’s theme, I will have a number of new items (books, magazines and videotapes) available for check-out. Please stop by!

Even though students are not due back until Tuesday, January 6th, 2009, I am preparing for some winter fun for us. I would like to announce our next Peninsula K-8 writing contest, which will start as soon as we are all back to school. (If you’re reading this, you’ll get a head start.)

OREGON & YOU is the title of the contest. Oregon turns 150 on Feb. 14th (Valentine’s Day) and there are lots of fun things going on in our state to commemorate the occasion.

This contest will be open to all Peninsula students. We will have three winners total: one in Grades Kindergarten-2, one in Grades 3-5, and one in Grades 6-8. The deadline is Monday, Feb. 9th; winners will be announced Friday, Feb. 13th. Each winner will receive a $10 gift card from Barnes & Noble bookstore.

What are the rules? Write your own story (or compose a song, draw or paint a picture, or interview someone) about Oregon. It can be as short as one page, or longer if you would like. You might want to write about a place you enjoy visiting in Oregon. The beach? Mountains? Desert? Or somewhere in our neighborhood?

Our younger students may want to draw a picture, or write a short story about Oregon.

Our upper grade students might want to interview a family member or neighbor and ask them about how they (and their family) came to reside in Oregon. I know how creative you all are — use your imaginations. You can also try to write something in the style we used for the George Washington contest. Pretend you are a famous (or not-so-famous) Oregonian. Tell us a story, speaking in that person’s voice.

My story would probably have something to do with my mother and father’s families. My mom’s father (my grandfather) visited Oregon during World War II and fell in love with the big trees. He was from Arkansas, and had wanted to come here to fish, hunt and camp. He loaded up my grandmother, my mom and her four brothers and sisters, and the family dog, Prissy, into the family station wagon and drove and drove until he got here. That was in 1957. He owned a ranch in Redmond (central Oregon) for a long time and was happiest building houses and working his land.

My dad’s family moved here in 1945, toward the end of World War II, so my grandpa on that side of the family could work in the shipyards on Swan Island. They lived in North and Northeast Portland. After that, he worked in a paint store. He loved working with the public. My dad’s family moved here from North Dakota, and my grandma was wild about the beautiful flowers, trees and shrubs in the Pacific Northwest. She preferred gardening in Oregon to gardening in North Dakota! I still love gardening, too, and I love North and Northeast Portland, like my family did.

Here is some Oregon trivia for you…

Capital: Salem

Population: 142,914
Statehood: February 14, 1859 – 33rd state admitted
Nickname: Beaver State
Motto: Alis Volat Propiis (She Flies With Her Own Wings)
State Bird: Western Meadowlark
Flower: Oregon Grape
Tree: Douglas Fir
State Song: Oregon, My Oregon

Where can you find out more about Oregon?

Here are some websites, in case you are looking for information about Oregon and her birthday:

* The Oregon Blue Book has a Kids’ Corner you might enjoy.

* The Oregonian newspaper is having a count-down, county-by-county, and taking a trip to some “uncommonly cool places” around the state.

* The Oregon 150 Newsletter is chock-full of information. (You will find Oregon stories here.)

* Travel Oregon is a fun way for find out lots about our state.

I will post more websites here as I find them — so keep checking back. If you have any questions, leave me a message in the comments section (you can leave comments anonymously, if you are shy). Or just come find me in the library.

Have a great week.

Ms. Nancy