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SFX students in grades 4-6 will have an opportunity to participate in Battle of the Books, a literary trivia game. This year we will play an interscholastic game with two other area schools, Roycemore and Chiaravalle. When we return from winter break, more information will be made available to students on how teams will be formed and how to earn a slot on the team but until that time, this is the list of the Battle o

We are very excited to have the opportunity to host award-winning author/illustrator Laurie Keller here at SFX on Thursday, Nov. 8. Her visit is made possible by our partnership with the Book Stall of Winnetka. Ms. Keller will be here promoting her hilarious new picture book, Potato Pants. She will be speaking with our Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade classes sharing how she generates the ideas for her books and

What a great time we had on Tuesday with author/illustrator Jon Agee! The students were enthralled by his ability to draw while telling them the story of his new book, “The Wall in the Middle of the Book.”  He was such a nice man and really spent a lot of time talking with our students. Much thanks to the Book Stall for making this event possible. If your child would like an autographed copy of one of Mr.

Our Birthday Book program in the SFX library is getting a revamp. The Birthday Book program allows families to celebrate their child’s birthday by buying a gift book for the SFX library. In the past families had to sign up for this but now you will receive an paper invitation during the month of your child’s birthday via your child’s backpack. If you would like to buy a book for the SFX library, the invit

The Book Stall is hosting two wonderful picture book author/illustrators this Friday, Sept. 28. At 4pm Caldecott Medalist Kevin Henkes will be at the Book Stall in Winnetka reading from his new book and autographing books. Mr. Henkes is a delightful person and fans of his books won’t want to miss this opportunity to meet him. No registration is necessary. More information can be found on the Book Stall’s

Dear Parents, Mr. Van and I have been busy introducing this year’s science fair information to our 6th-8th grade students. I have gone over with them what makes a credible website and highlighting science websites that are appropriate for them to use for the science fair project. I have curated this list of great resources for our students to use for the science fair and shared it with our Middle Schoolers. We

It was wonderful to see so many of you last night at the Middle School Back to School Night. I wanted to share digitally the form that would allow 5th grade students to checkout from the middle school library collection. For those who couldn’t make it last night, during the evening I spoke to the 5th grade parents about how we have a Middle School Collection geared towards and limited to our 6th-8th graders.  A

Through our partnership with the Book Stall, they are bringing us children’s  author/illustrator Jon Agee the afternoon of Tuesday, Oct. 2. I got a chance to meet Mr. Agee this summer at the national library conference and he is very engaging and fun so I am very excited that our students have the opportunity to meet him.  He will be talking with our 1st-3rd grade students.  Ms. Taubensee and I are collaboratin

As we are getting ready for the move to our new library space in the coming months, we are busy going through the books in the library and sprucing up the collection. We are finding that our Dr. Seuss books and our Harry Potter books are looking quite well-loved and worn with ripped pages and broken spines. Before I buy fresh copies, I thought I would reach out to our SFX families to see if any of you have any gently

If your child completed a summer reading program at any public library, please ask him or her fill out this form and return it to Mrs. Sawyer by next Friday, September 7th. Proof of participation in any summer library reading program, or completion of our Tower of Books Challenge, earns your child a voucher for a free kids meal from Chipotle! Simply bring your library reading program certificate or your Tower of Book

Hi! I am so excited to see all our students when they return to school on Wednesday. Plans are progressing for our new library and in the meantime, we are making the most of our existing space and getting it ready for students to return. Be sure to stop by the library during the family orientation on Aug. 21 when students can learn about some of the authors coming to SFX this year, review our online databases to supp

I hope everyone is enjoying this lovely summer. I wanted to share with you that the author of the very popular Owl Diaries beginning reader series is coming to the Evanston Public Library on Friday, August 10 at 2:00 p.m. and all are welcome to attend. This series is very popular with our SFX 1st and 2nd grade students from last school year and I know many of them would love this rare chance to meet the author who is

Dear School Parents, We’re excited to announce a great reading resource called Capstone Interactive eBooks. This summer, Capstone is providing free access to thousands of ebooks that can be read from school, home, or on-the-go. These eBooks can be used with a laptop, a desktop computer or an iPad. Best of all, Capstone Interactive eBooks provide critical supports like text-highlighting and read-aloud audio and are re

It’s hard to believe it is June! What a wonderful year I have had with all of our SFX students! They are such book enthusiasts and a delight to shepherd through the world of literacy. It was so exciting to end our year with an amazing author visit with Liesl Shurtliff. She enthralled our 3rd-5th grade students and had them perform a readers theater of Snow White. Liesl even made time to celebrate with our 4th-6

As the school year is drawing to a close, our 3rd-5th grade students are getting very excited about Liesl Shurtliff’s visit to SFX this Friday. If your child would like their own personal copy of one of Liesl’s books, please fill out and complete the order form and return it to the office by Tuesday, June 5 along with a check made payable to the Book Stall. 20% from the sale of Mrs. Shurtliff’s book

As the school year comes to a close, we need to make sure all SFX library books make their way back to school. We have asked students to return their school library books to the school library by the end of the school day today, June 1st. Please help your child remember to return all of their books! Please email me at lindasawyer@sfx-school.org if you have any questions. Mrs. Sawyer

Today, Alice Joseph of the Wilmette Public Library came to SFX to speak with our Kindergarten-4th grade students about the wonderful offerings the library has to offer this summer. In addition to their summer reading program, they have tech programs, writing programs and a wealth of other fun events like concerts and movies. There are also great volunteer opportunities for middle school students to earn service hours

As part of our upcoming spring book fair, which is taking place June 6th-8th at the SFX Library and the Book Stall, we will be hosting author Liesl Shurtliff here on Friday, June 8th. She will be speaking with our 3rd-5th grade students about her newest book, Grump. If your child would like an autographed book, please fill out the order form and return it to the library no later than June 5. A portion of the proceeds

The tickets for the children who completed the Great America Read to Succeed Reading Club have arrived and will be sent home this week via your child’s classroom teacher. Please note the dates listed on the vouchers for the eligible time frame to use the free admission passes as they expire before the end of summer. If for some reason, the voucher doesn’t makes it way home, please don’t hesitate to

As spring is now here and the weather is finally starting to feel spring-like, I would like to draw attention to our new Little Free Library. It popped up over the winter and is located in front of the school on Linden Avenue. Last school year, our then 3rd grade students (along with their fellow Poetry Pals partners from two other schools) created the tiles that make up the outside of the library. Much thanks to SFX

What fun we had last week during our Book Cafe. The students did a great job discussing our featured book and decoding ciphers from the book. In May, we will meet on Thursday, May 31  during 3rd-5th grade recess and lunch. Dessert will be provided.  The discussion is open to all students in 3rd-5th grade.  We will be reading Jack the Fairly True Tale of Jack and the Beanstalk by Liesl Shurtliff. Ms. Shurtliff will be

Just a quick reminder the deadline to complete the Bluestem Challenge is this Tuesday, May 1. Any SFX 3rd-5th grade student who reads all of the 20 Bluestem nominees and turns in the Bluestem Reading Challenge form to me no later than May 1st will get to attend a special pizza party in the library at the end of the school year. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions. Mrs. Sawyer Libr

Throughout the school year, first grade students visit the library weekly and they checkout 5 books that they keep in their classrooms to have for reading during the school day. These books are a mix of picture books, beginning readers, and, as of last week, transitional chapters books-books with controlled vocabulary but more pages and fewer illustrations than beginning readers. Starting this week, first grade stude

I hope you had a blessed Easter and are enjoying the Easter break. Just a reminder the deadline for the Bluestem Challenge is approaching.  I encourage all students in grades 3-5 to take the Bluestem Challenge. The Bluestem Award is an Illinois Readers Choice award for students in grades 3-5. The nominee list is created by librarians and educators from across the state.  Any SFX 3rd-5th grade student who reads all of

While adults very busy voting in primary elections yesterday, our SFX students have spent the last week voting in the Illinois Readers Choice Award elections and here are the results: For the Monarch Award, which is for Grades K-2, I read to the students the 20 books that were on the nominee list over the course of a few weeks and they cast their votes. Check out the enthusiasm of some of our voters here . Our studen