School’s out — yippee!! But that doesn’t mean it’s time to shut down your brain til August! This morning, the details of Peabody’s Operation Summer Reading were announced to the students (click on the link for a recap). One part of the plan is for students to share their favorite books with each other over the summer via this website. Email a picture of your child reading or holding their book, and a short review (1-2 sentences is great!) that will make other kids want to rush out and find that book! Here are a few to get you started:

Wayside School is Falling Down by Louis Sachar: It is so funny! Dameon is funny and he is in love with his teacher. A lot of crazy things happen! (Review by Cori Carnes, rising 5th grader)

Wacky Wednesday by Dr. Seuss: It is really funny, especially when he got in the shower with a sock! (Review by Derin Kovarik, rising 4th grader)

The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo: It’s mysterious and interesting. I couldn’t look up from the book — literally! (Review by Kelcie Harris, rising 5th grader)

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum: It has a lot of magic, and no book is more exciting! (Review by Walt Spickler, rising 5th grader)

Email YOUR book review to friendsofpeabody@gmail.com!

The Accelerated Reader team is thrilled to announce that this year’s AR Prize Store will be sponsored by The Village Toymaker! This generous local business will be donating the toys and prizes our Peabody students will choose from when they shop with their AR points this year.

The Village Toymaker’s huge annual toy sale starts today (8/21/14) and runs through Sunday (8/24/14), with 20-50% off everything in their stores, so please stop by one of their locations (at the Children’s Museum, in East Memphis or in Germantown) to do a little shopping for upcoming birthdays, or maybe even some early Christmas shopping! When you do, PLEASE make sure to mention that you’re a Peabody family and thank them for their generosity to our children!

The first AR Prize Store will be held right around Fall Break, so encourage your child to do LOTS of reading and AR quiz taking — not only so they can get some great prizes, but also to s-t-r-e-t-c-h those mental muscles! Need more info about how to help your child be successful with AR? Check out our AR web page!

Peabody’s newest adopter, Lindenwood Christian Church, will be giving away free school supplies to Peabody students this Saturday, August 2, from 9 am – 3 pm! 

Details from our adopter:

Lindenwood will send buses to pick up parents from Peabody School starting at 8:45 am.  There will be a bus transporting parents in 30 minute intervals.  Lindenwood is providing breakfast and lunch to parents and students.  The last bus will pick up from Peabody at 2:15 pm.  Parents do not have to stay at the church the entire time.  Lindenwood will transport back to Peabody within 30 to 45 minutes.  There will be fun activities such as face painting and games for children.

Thank you, Lindenwood!

This Friday (5/9) is the last day for students to take Accelerated Reader quizzes that will count toward their 4th 9-week goals and year-end prizes. And they have knocked it out of the park this year! As a whole school, they have earned almost TRIPLE the amount of AR points that they did last year!!

Let’s reward their hard work with a great last AR store on Monday, May 19. We need volunteers from 11 am – 1 pm, but if you can only stay for one of the hours, we’ll take it. Sign up here on Volunteer Spot. It’s an easy and fun way to help out before another school year is in the history books!

This Spring Break, don’t take a break from reading…pick up a book for great stories and a chance at great prizes!

Kindergarteners:
Read 10 books or more to get a free book to take home! Parents, please fill out the reading log that will be sent home with the names of the books you read with your child over Spring Break and return to his/her teacher by Tuesday, March 18 to receive a free book!

1st & 2nd Graders:
Earn 5 or more Accelerated Reader points between March 17 and the end of the school day on March 20 to be entered into a drawing for two second row tickets (plus a parking pass!) to see the Grizzlies play the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday, March 24!

3rd-5th Graders:
Keep working on your Read to Achieve books! Read six books (30 pages or more, please) and do one book report before April 2 to join your friends at FedExForum on April 10 (during the school day!) for the Read to Achieve Celebration, featuring Grizzlies players, Grizz girls, and Grizz himself! Parents, please sign off on the books your child reads on his/her Read to Achieve bookmark.

Parents:
Reading aloud to your children (of all ages!) is one of the very best things you can do to support their education. Here are seven reasons why!