Dear Members,
Happy New Year! I hope that you all had a fun and relaxing holiday and are ready for all of the excitement of the second half of the school year. I am sure that your local council has a lot of enriching activities planned as well. Make it your New Year’s Resolution to be a more involved member – you won’t regret it! This is a combination January/February e-newsletter. It includes information from the January SSRA Board Meeting and IMPORTANT news about the Reno conference.
Interested in Serving?
If you would like to serve on the Silver State Reading Association board, please, send your name to the nominating committee in care of Linda Kraft at gjkraft@citlink.net. There is always a need for those willing to help at the state level.
Be thinking, as well, about volunteering to serve on your local council’s board or on a committee. Too often, the same people end up serving over and over again. Most don’t mind, but the organizations can only benefit from new individuals and new ideas in the leadership.
African-American Read-In Chain
Plan to participate in the African-American Read-In Chain on February 2nd or 3rd. Many of you helped to make the Hispanic-American Read-In Chain a success in September. Participating in the African-American Read-In is just as simple. Simply share a piece of writing by an African American author with a group of students or friends. You can download a copy of the report form at www.reading.org.
Do you have an article you would like included in the Spring issue of Quicksilver? If so, please, send it to Sarah Fornara at mecbhc@citlink.net. It can be a review of a book or useful website, a summary of recent research, or an account of a recent local council event. We are also interested in reflections from those who have attended previous IRA Conventions on why making time to attend this year’s convention in Reno would be worthwhile. The deadline is February 3rd. Please, be sure that your local council membership chair has your current address so that there will be no problems with delivery of your Quicksilver. Thanks!
Language, Reading, and Culture Conference
Newbery award winning author, Lois Lowry, will be the featured presenter at the Language,
Reading and Culture conference at the University of Arizona on March 6, 2004. Soon to be
released, her newest book, Messenger, is the third book in the 'Giver' trilogy. Illustrator Joe
Cepeda will also be presenting. For more information and to be put on the mailing list for a
conference application contact: Dr. Kathy Short, University Of Arizona, College of Education,
(520) 621-1843, email: shortk@u.arizona.edu
You can receive your activity packet for Read Across America Day (March 2) by contacting the National Education Association through their website at www.nea.org.
American Library Association Awards
For a list of this year’s winners, including the Caldecott and Newbury awards, go to www.smartwriters.com or www.ala.org for more in-depth information on the books.
Don’t forget the Honor Council deadline is coming up! Your paperwork must be postmarked by March 1, so don’t delay.
The winners of the last book drawing were: Winner of It's Raining Pigs and Noodles by Jack Prelutsky: Anena Kipp (Tonopah E.S.); Winner of The White House An Illustrated History - Ronda Bridgman (for Tonopah E.S. library)
Nevada Reading Week- Reading the “Write” Thing to Do
The Nevada Reading Week booklet should be available on the SSRA website – www.silverstatereading.org -- beginning sometime in February. Ellen Fockler could use your ideas to include in the booklet. Send them to her ASAP at efockler@washoe.k12.nv.us.
Southern Nevada Reading Council sells t-shirts and sweatshirts (adult sizes) for Nevada Reading Week. If you are interested in purchasing these for yourselves, your schools, etc., please e-mail Sarah Fornara at mecbhc@citlink.net for an order form. Theme: "Reading...the Write Thing to Do" Cost: T-shirt $10.00; Sweatshirt $20.00. Logo will be in color on high quality 100% cotton, purple shirts. Orders of 10 or more will be delivered to your school. Please try to order as a group for the entire school. Make checks payable to: SNRC. All orders must be pre-paid and sent to: Jackie Soden at Silvestri MS or at her home address: 10127 Rolling Tree St., Las Vegas NV 89123. If you have any questions, please contact Carole Hoppe or Susan Hendricks at 799-5660 or through InterAct. Shirts will be delivered the last week of February. All orders must be received by Friday, February 6, 2004. Literacy Specialists or Librarians, please coordinate the order for your school.
Presenters Wanted! There is still a need for Nevada strand presenters for the Reno conference. If you know of an outstanding presenter from Nevada or would like to present yourself, please, contact Linda Kraft ASAP at gjkraft@citlink.net. Help us show the world what Nevada has to offer!
BOOK NOW! There are few remaining rooms at the Reno Hilton, one of the main conference sites, so don’t delay in making your reservations. Also, the cheap flights from Reno to Vegas on Southwest Airlines are already filled for Friday. There are still openings for the late Thursday flights and for higher-fare flights. The Nugget, the other main conference site, is full for Saturday’s reading research conference. The Regie Routman institute for Sunday is already full.
The early bird registration deadline is February 6th!
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! Many, many volunteers from Nevada are needed to make the conference a success. If you are willing to give some of your time, e-mail your name, e-mail address, and times you would be willing to work to Diane Barone at barone@unr.nevada.edu. Help is also needed prior to the conference to assemble centerpieces.
Scholarships The SSRA board voted to increase the number of Panchhi scholarships. This means that there will still be money available for the Reno conference. Look for the application in your Quicksilver coming at the end of February.
Single-day rates To receive the special single-day rate for Nevada teachers, you must have the special prepaid registration form. If you need a copy, please, e-mail mecbhc@citlink.net. The deadline is March 29th.
If you have received this e-mail in error or no longer wish to receive these updates, please, contact the sender.
Sincerely,
Sarah McFadden Fornara
corresponding secretary, Silver State Reading Association