Hour of Code Coming Soon

One of our favorite media activities is the annual event -- Hour of Code -- coming December 9-15, 2019. There are plenty of links to keep coders of all ages busy for a long time. In the past they have had tie-ins with popular games like Angry Birds and Minecraft. The new code activities won't be released until that week, but here's a promo video to wet your appetite.

Visit the HOUR OF CODE website at https://hourofcode.com/us

'70s Day at PPS

A number of years ago when the Internet was neither as ubiquitous or reliable, I began calling those occasional outages "'70s Days" ; we'd dig out the encyclopedias, The Reader's Guide to Periodic Literature, and books. I always thought I should keep a wide tie and bell bottom pants in the closet to complete the look. Since I came to Portage in 2006, we've experienced surprisingly few network interruptions of more than an hour or two. Until this week. Rumor has it there was a fiber cut and PPS, KVCC, and other sites in the area went back to the '70s Wednesday afternoon and all day Thursday.

At Woodland, students from Mr. Musser, Mrs. Wagner, Mrs. Greene, Mrs. Reinhart, and Mrs. Loso enjoyed a break from their Chromebooks and rediscovered books and encyclopedias in Media.

Battle of the Books Teams Forming Now!

Students in 4th and 5th grade have an excellent opportunity to join a team of friends and classmates to compete in Portage's Battle of the Books program. Teams are forming now.

The school Battle is scheduled for February 10 with the top teams from each school advancing to the Grand Battle on February 17.

At Amberly, each 4th and 5th grade classroom teacher has a copy of each book, thanks to the PTO.

Click here to check your school library for copies.

Click here to check the Portage Public Library for copies.

Wishtree by Katherine Applegate.

An old red oak tree tells how he and his crow friend, Bongo, help their human neighbors get along after a threat against an immigrant family is carved into the tree's trunk.

Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis.
Ten-year-old a motherless boy living in Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression, escapes a bad foster home and sets out in search of the man he believes to be his father--the renowned bandleader, H.E. Calloway of Grand Rapids.

Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt.
Ally's greatest fear is that everyone will find out she is as dumb as they think she is because she still doesn't know how to read

Pax by Sara Pennypacker.
After being forced to give up his pet fox, Pax, a young boy named Peter decides to leave home and get his best friend back.

The Red Bandanna by Tom Rinaldi.
An adaptation of the biography of September 11 hero Welles Crowther that traces his faith-based outlook on life, position as a volunteer in his local fire department, and desire to join the FDNY, and how he sacrificed his life to save people trapped in the South Tower.

Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk.
Twelve-year-old Annabelle must learn to stand up for what's right in the face of a manipulative and violent new bully who targets people Annabelle cares about, including a homeless World War I veteran.