Our first student Varsity Reader!

 Congratulations to 6th grader Ben who became our first student Varsity Reader by completing 20 MCBA nominees. 

He joins Ms. Gearhart (always our first Varsity Reader- she is amazing!) on the star board. 

Who will be next??!!

Kick-off Rally!

 On Wednesday morning, the entire fourth, fifth, and sixth grade along with their teachers met in the Grace Bement Reading Room to officially launch this year's MCBA program @ Bement.

Watch the kick-off video to meet the nominees.

Learn more about this year's nominees!

Click below

Slides credit: Lindsay Anderson

The New List has Arrived!

 The 2025 list is here, just in time for summer reading! So many great books to explore!

On Sora, too!

The State winner is announced!

 

Stories in Action

 Oh, what a night it was! Stories in Action took place on Friday, March 1 from 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. in the library. Students had the chance to meet service dogs and trainers from Fidelco, make slime, test their knowledge of the 25 nominated books with artifacts, weave a friendship bracelet,

appear in a Pizazz Talent Agency Variety Show, and solve the greatest art heist in history in a breakout room. Plus each cake, munch an ice cream sandwich and drink contaminated water (Thirst, IYKYK!)

Such a fun time, thanks to the hard work of our teacher and parent volunteers!

Bement's winning book!

 The readers have voted, and Stella by McCall Hoyle is our winner! We will forward our votes to Salem State to be included in the state tally. The state winner will be announced next month.

School BOTB Champs!

 The Barn was buzzing in excitement as the School BOT Tournament took place on February 26. Our grade-level winners and the wildcard team faced off in a showdown of book knowledge.

Congratulations to Grade 5, Anna, Astrid, August, and Matthew on their decisive win!

Thanks to all of our Battlers this year!

Sixth grade winners!

 The Grade Level Round of Battle of the Books finished up on Friday with the Sixth Grade competition. 

Congratulations to Addison, Cora, and Rosalyn for a fine showing! They will represent sixth grade in the School Tournament.

Bringing back the Wildcard!

 After a COVID hiatus, the Wildcard round is back this year! All non-winning teams were invited back for one more chance to make the big dance.

The fifth-grade team of Addi, Ben, Joaquin, and Liana won the wildcard and will have a chance for the school title on Monday. Congratulations!

The Grade Five Winner!

 The Fifth grade came to compete! We had a terrific showing and a victor!

Congratulations to Anna,  Astrid, Matthew, and August our new 5th grade champs!

They move on to the School Tournament on February 26.

The Battle of the Books Tournament has begun

 We kicked off the 2024 MCBA Battle of the Books tournament yesterday with an exciting 4th grade round. So close! 

Congratulations to Jakey, Charley, David, and Clayton for a great win! They will move on to represent the 4th grade in the school tournament. 

Photos courtesy of Bree Wisniewski

Varsity Readers

 Varsity Readers at Bement are those who read 20 or more MCBA nominees.

The window is filling up with 13 VR already and still weeks to go in the program.

Reading is a varsity sport!

Meeting author Margaret Finnegan

 On January 31st the MCBA readers had the opportunity to meet Margaret Finnegan, author of We Could Be Heroes. 

We learned her inspiration for the story, about her upcoming book, and how Booler got his name! She was terrific and patiently answered all of our questions!

We have been so fortunate to connect with a few of the authors whose books we have enjoyed this MCBA season. 

A Wonderful visit with McCall Hoyle

 We were so lucky to spend time with McCall Hoyle, author of Stella on Wednesday. We learned that everyone is a writer, and ideas can come from anywhere. We learned how Ms. Hoyle prefers to write from the viewpoint of a dog since it is more interesting. And boy, does she love dogs! 

She shared the importance of reading sad stories and how they build emotional strength and empathy. She was so nice, took all of our questions, and provided such thoughtful responses. Thank you, Ms. Hoyle!

Second author vist announced!

 We will have the chance to meet We Could Be Heroes author Margaret Finnegan on January 31!

Get your questions ready!