Dowell Readers

Final Cut Fast Approaching

Students have worked hard to qualify to become a Dowell Reader.  Candidates had to read a minimum of four of the Georgia Book Award Nominees.  They had to pass the Accelerated Reader test with 80% or better.  Students who were not selected should continue to enjoy reading.  Consider participating next year at middle school or here at Dowell as a fifth grader.            The following students have already qualified to be a Dowell Reader: Marshall Maria Antedre Natasha Justin           A few other participants need 1 or 2 books completed by 10:30 on Friday. Training now begins in earnest.  Each participant will become an expert on selected books.  Ms. Wilson and I will assign books based on student’s AR record, reading level, and team needs.  The team will meet weekly starting October 1, 2007.

Fundraising! Fundraising!

Fundraising has begun.  The Dowell Readers kicked off the Chic-fil-a Biscuit sales on September 13th.  Four hundred biscuits sold within thirty minutes.  Unfortunately, the price of a biscuit has increased to $2.50 therefore future sales may be less.  Our next biscuit sale is Thursday, October 4th.  We need parents to assist with selling.  Please contact us if you are available.            Another fundraiser planned is a booth at the PTA Fall Festival on October 19th.  The Dowell Readers plan to sell cold drinks.  Parents, we need your help to have a successful event.  Please donate canned soft drinks or bottled water.  In addition, volunteers are needed to staff the booth.           Why do we have fundraisers?  The Dowell Readers is an extracurricular activity.  The major expense is transportation to the regional Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl competition.  This year the competition is in Jasper.  Participant’s competition T-shirts and snacks also are purchased for team members.

Notices Have Been Sent

     If you are looking for my classroom blogs, please click on Ms. Shantike Wilson on Dowell's webpage.

     Students who have not read and passed four AR tests on the Georgia Book Award Nominees will not participate with the Dowell Readers.  Students who have three or less books as of 09/17/2007 have been notified.  These students must decide if they will achieve the minimum requirements before the cut-off date.

     The next meeting is Monday, September 24, 2007. Students who do not believe they will reach the minimum requirements need not attend.

                      

           Dowell, Read Well, Do Well!

Email Notification Service

Parents
The service that we use to automatically notify you when the blog is updated has changed their terms of service in such a way that an ad will begin showing up at the bottom of the email that comes to you. Your email address is still not being shared with anyone other than the school! The mere placement of advertising in school communications is of concern to us, especially since we have no control over what the ad may be.

We are exploring other means of providing this service to you at this time. For now, we ask your patience as we work through the concern. In the meantime, if you receive an ad that is objectionable to you, we would appreciate your notifying the school, and holding onto it so that it may be forwarded to proper personnel.

Thank you for your patience!

Two Weeks Before 1st Cut

There are only two weeks before the cut!  That’s right only a short period for you to read and take AR tests on 4 books.  If you have not read at least two books, you may want to reconsider your participation in the Dowell Readers.  Remember, this is a reading competition team.  You must read and take AR tests in order to be considered for the team.

Many students have read The Report Card and The Hero Revealed.  We have not had anyone to test on Bella at Midnight, The Book of Story Beginnings, Isabella’s Above-Ground Pool, and The Misadventures of Maude March. All competitors must know the author of all the books on the list.

Today, students wrote questions from the books that they had read.  A short competition was held to provide feedback on what students will experience while participating in the Dowell Readers. This competitive team requires a lot of independent reading.

An Exciting Beginning

The first meeting of the Dowell Readers was a success. There were 17 students in attendance. Three of the students had begun reading and taking AR tests on the Georgia Book Award Nominees.

Students are encouraged to read and ask questions as they read. We suggest that students ask questions every 3-5 pages.  Questions asked during the competition are literal (right there) questions. Questions often focus on the smallest details.

Our next meeting is September 10th at 2:30 in the Media Center. Remember that students who are not picked up by 3:35 will go to ASP.

                 Dowell, Read Well, Do Well!

Welcome 2007-2008

Welcome back to school. If you are looking for my classroom blogs, please click on Ms. Shantike Wilson on the school's webpage. That will link you to our classroom information.

On this blogs, you will find information pertaining to the Dowell Readers. The Dowell Readers is a reading competition team. You may have noted that there are several posts on the blogs. The posts are from last year's activities. I encourage you to explore them with your student, and to use it as an opportunity to discuss with your child what to expect in from participating with the Dowell Readers.

The first meeting is August 27th at 2:30 in the Media Center. Students must have a signed permission slip to attend the meeting. Meetings are over at 3:30. Parents must pick-up their child by 3:35 or the child will be placed in the After School Program (ASP). Required registration is $10 and $7 per day for attendance. We look forward to an exciting year with the Dowell Readers.

                     Dowell Readers: Read Well! Do Well!

We are looking forward to the HRRB Regional competition on Saturday, March 3rd at the University of  West Georgia. We will travel to Carrollton with Lovinggood Middle and Osborne High. The bus will leave at 7:30 a.m. Please have your student at Lovinggood Middle School by 7:15 a.m. We expect to return to Lovinggood around 5:00 p.m.             At this time, we do not know if there will be room for all of the parents. Once the students and coaches have boarded, as many parents as possible will board the bus. Please be willing to carpool if we cannot get everyone on the bus.             Last year the competition ended between 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. After the competition, the teams stopped at Applebee’s for lunch. We hope to do the same thing this year. We are asking that each child bring $10 for lunch. We will provide snacks for the children as we did at the county competition.             Please continue to ask your child questions about the books. Each student has lists of questions for their books. You and the entire Dowell family are giving their full support to the Dowell Readers.

February 3rd is almost here!

The first annual Cobb County School District Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl Competition will take place on Saturday, February 3, 2007 at R. L. Osborne High School in Marietta .

Day of the event Check-in will begin at 8:30 am in the Old Gym at OHS. Each registered team should bring two adult volunteers to assist with running the competition. Volunteers may be parents, teachers, community members, etc. Training for volunteers will take place at 8:30 am in the media center. Opening Ceremonies will begin at 9:15 in the Old Gym at OHS Parking is available behind the school – access from Kennedy Lane off of Windy Hill Rd.

Game Format Each school will participate in six rounds. Each round will consist of 10 questions. Alternates may be substituted between rounds. Teams will receive 10 points for each answer. There will be no penalties for wrong answers. There will be five members on a team and up to five alternates. A school may have no more than one team.

Parents please have your child at Osborne by 8:15. If you are available to volunteer to assist with the event, let us know. We will submit names to the organizers on January 25th.

See & Hear the Arts at Dowell

Parents, family and friends, please mark your calendars and join the celebration of your children's art creations and a performance of the Dowell Singers. This is a fundraiser for both the music and visual arts programs. Please come enjoy this exciting evening with us. Every child will have an original piece of artwork in the show! We willl have refreshments and singing in the cafeteria and the art show will be in the gym! Please look for more information in the next few weeks!! Dec.5th is the big night!!! 6:30-8:00pm.