Decker Prairie Elementary School

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Hi everyone! My name is Mandy Watson, and I am your child's librarian at Decker Prairie Elementary. This will be my 14th year of teaching and my 8th year as librarian. I look forward to seeing your child come each week to the library to check out his or her books, to hear me teach a lesson, and to participate in library activities such as read alouds, technology sessions, or library stations/makerspaces. I hope my lessons and stories I read aloud will inspire a love for reading and learning in your child!

Look around this site to learn more about our library. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me.

Enjoy learning and reading!
Mrs. Watson
 

Recent Posts

Today's (12/18/18) Battle of the Books Meeting Recap

Today we had a 2018-19 Battle of the Books meeting for our interested 3rd and 4th graders. Here is what we discussed and/or accomplished...
  • Students formed teams of 3-6 if they hadn't already
  • They selected a team captain and scribe
    • Captain- helps encourage each team member to do their part, is who I share announcements/information with, and helps organize when teams meet to discuss their books
    • Scribe- Learns how to correctly spell each book's title and author to write it neatly during the competition
  • Team members divided the list of 30 books into who will read what
  • I gave tips on what each student should share with their team about their books. I encouraged them to write the following on a note card or notebook for their team:
    • Title
    • Author
    • Characters
    • Brief summary of the book including problem and solution
Talk to your child about who is on their team, what books they are to read, and what strategies their team have to prepare for the competition. I will have sample questions posted in the library each week for our students to view to help them practice. Our competition will fall around the first week in February.
 
How parents can help:
  • Ask your child about what they are reading and if they shared it with their team
  • Help your child locate any books that may be checked out/unavailable from our library (only Battle of the Books students may check out Battle of the Books books)
  • Host or see if your child's team needs to meet together and discuss their books. You may contact me if you'd like them to meet at the school
I am SO excited! We currently have 60 interested students on teams. Let me know if you have any questions!
 

It's Birthday Book Club Sign Up Time!
 
Learn more about how you can make a donation to add books to our library AND to celebrate your child's birthday! Click on the "Birthday Book Club" tab to the right of this page. Thank you for adding more books to our library and letting me celebrate your child's birthday with them!
#bookbrags Has Begun!
 
For more details on how your child can participate, see the "#bookbrags" tab on the right of this page
Decker Prairie Elementary is "Internet Awesome!"
 
Last week all of the students at DPES got a peek at how we are going to learn throughout the year about how to be Internet Awesome (Smart, Alert, Strong, Kind, and Brave). The boys and girls were challenged to beat Mrs. Watson's high score of 110 on Interland's "Mindful Mountain" (Smart) challenge. They can play at home by clicking the "Library Links" button on the right of this page.

New myON Login

I am not sure why, but the login to our amazing ebook reading site myON has changed. Here are the steps to find myON for your child to use at home:
  1. Go to http://www.clever.com or click "Library Links" and then myON button button
  2. Select at top right: "Log in as a student"
  3. Type in and select our school's name
  4. Select "Log in with Google"
  5. Enter your child's login: their#@elem.tomballschools.net
  6. Their password is tisd+birthdate (=tisdmmddyyyy)
  7. This will take you to Clever, which houses all of the sites that our school or district pays for that the students can access. Scroll down and click on "myON"
  8. I would bookmark or save at this point
Again, I am sorry for the changes. I am hoping that myON's home access will be changed to be easier than this very soon!

2018-19 Battle of the Books Official List Released!

Summer has just begun, and I already have next year's books for our 2019 Battle of the Books Tournament! We had over 100 students interested this past school year, but little time to read the 30 books. This time, our incoming 3rd and 4th graders have plenty of time! Details will be posted soon, but if your child is interested, they can start this summer on reading many of the books.
 
Decker Strong, we can, WE WILL be TISD's winners next year!
It’s that time of year beginning this Wednesday (5/16/18). Plus, our students will earn makerspaces/stations time in the library!

Author Katherine Applegate in Houston this Saturday

Many of our students have commented how much they loved reading Katherine Applegate's book The One and Only Ivan. I found out from an email that she will be in Houston this Saturday, May 5th at Blue Willow Bookstore. Click here to learn more. Her newest book Endling: The Last has to be purchased in order for you to get an autograph. 

Are you interested in coding camp this summer?
Here is the information to sign your child up- in Spanish!
 

Mandy's bookshelf: currently-reading

The Rose Legacy
The Rose Legacy
by Jessica Day George

goodreads.com