From Publishers Weekly
DiCamillo's debut novel, a 2001 Newbery Honor Book, percolates with heartfelt emotion and eccentric Southern color as superbly performed by Tony Award-winning actress Jones. Ten-year-old Opal, lonely in the Florida town where she has just moved with her preacher father, instantly takes a shine to a scraggly stray dog she encounters in the local Winn-Dixie supermarket. The pooch, named for their meeting place, becomes a trusted companion with whom Opal can share her thoughts and fears, and her hurt, confused feelings about the mother who left the family when Opal was three. Winn-Dixie is soon helping Opal in other ways, too. The dog's "smile" and sweet temperament act as ice breakers that allow Opal to meet a whole new group of friends who grow to be an unusual extended family. Jones imbues her depiction of Opal with a tone of youthful, hopeful wonder and skillfully transforms her voice to distinguish the other older, life-weathered characters. A Tennessee native, she never sounds hokey as she adopts a Southern accent, and she effortlessly slips into a compelling storytelling rhythm. This is a top-notch treatment of an award-winning tale. Ages 8-up.
Grandparent's Day is 17 days away and we are excited to honor our elders and celebrate all they mean to us!
Thank you for your willingness to support this important event.
As for the plans: Here is how it is scheduled for Friday, September 6th:
Parking
will be available across from school on Zach Curlin and they will not
be ticketing during the event. Parking is also available for $3.00 an
hour in the parking garage
and for those who need handicap parking can do so on the lowest level
of the parking lot if they drive up towards the garage and around to the
right. We are pre-selling the parking garage tickets on Friday
mornings. We are also encouraging as many parents
as possible to drive the grandparents with their child and drop them
off and then pick them back up.
Then, for Family Gathering:
8:00 – 8:30 family gathering for 1,2 and breakfast in rooms for 3,4,5
8:35 - 9:00 family gathering for 3,4,5 and breakfast in rooms for 1,2
A blue ribbon is earned when a student scores 70% or better on the questions they answer. Sometimes, this can take multiple sessions. If your child does poorly on a session (let's say 40%), and subsequently scores an 80% on the next session, the computer will average the two together and your child will receive a 60%--which will not give them a blue ribbon. However, I have the ability to go in to the program and delete the lower scores. Therefore, if this happens to your child, THEY DO NOT HAVE TO KEEP REDOING THE LESSON. As long as they have at least one session at 70%, they can receive credit. I will update these daily to ensure your child does not complete unnecessary work. I wish the system self-corrected, but it does not.
