Port Chester-Rye Union Free School District
Port Chester Middle School
113 Bowman Avenue
Port Chester, New York 10573
914.934.7930
www.portchesterschools.org
Mr. Patrick Swift
Principal
June 2013
Dear Parent or Guardian:
As your child prepares for September at the Middle School, we would like to present you with our
Summer Reading Program.
During the summer months, the two most important parts of the program will be you and your child.
Your child will need your support to successfully complete the Summer Reading Program. Reading
during the summer months will provide your child a solid basis for academic achievement.
Summer Reading Requirements:
1. Students must read at least two books of their choice.
2. Students must complete the attached assignment for each book that they read. They
must also have a parent or guardian’s signature on the tally sheet for each book read.
3. The required assignment is due on the first day of school in September.
4. Students must bring a copy of their books to school or pictures of the front covers, of
their books.
5. Students must be prepared to discuss one of their books with their class on the first day
of school in September.
Students who complete the Summer Reading Program will be invited to a special school event.
Students who read more than two books will receive Special School Recognition.
Attached is a suggested reading list with a wide variety of titles, authors, and genres. Please note that
this is a suggested reading list; students may also read books that are not on the list. You and your
child can visit www.readkiddoread.com or the local public library to find more books of interest.
The Summer Reading Program is required for all students. You can access the Summer Reading
Program materials on the Middle School website (www.ms.portchesterschools.org).
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. Thank you in advance for your support of the
Summer Reading Program.
Sincerely,
PS:C
Attachments
Patrick Swift
Port Chester-Rye Union Free School District
Port Chester Middle School
113 Bowman Avenue
Port Chester, New York 10573
914.934.7930
www.portchesterschools.org
Mr. Patrick Swift
Principal
junio 2013
Estimado padre/guardián:
Su niño o niña está preparando para septiembre en la escuela, nosotros queremos presentarles con nuestro
Programa de Lectura del Verano.
Durante los meses del verano, las dos partes importantes del programa van a ser usted y su niño o niña. Su niño
o niña necesita su ayuda y apoyo para tener éxito en el Programa de Lectura del Verano. Leyendo durante los
meses del verano va a facilitar un fundamento de éxito académico para su niño o niña
Requisitos de Lectura del Verano:
1. Estudiantes tienen que leer no menos de dos libros de su opción.
2. Estudiantes tienen que completar la tarea adjuntada para cada libro leído. También, debe tener
una firma del padre o madre en el papel del registro para cada libro leído.
3. Estudiantes tienen que entregar la tarea en el primer día de la escuela en septiembre.
4. Estudiantes tienen que traer una copia de sus libros o unas fotos de las cubiertas de sus libros.
5. Estudiantes deben preparar a discutir un libro con su clase en el primer día de la escuela en
septiembre.
Estudiantes que completan el Programa de Lectura del Verano van a recibir una invitación a un evento
especial. Estudiantes que leen más de dos libros van a recibir Reconocimiento Especial de la Escuela.
Adjuntada es una lista de lectura recomendada con una variedad de títulos, autores y géneros. Por favor, note
que es una lista recomendada; estudiantes pueden leer libros que no están en la lista. Usted y su niño o niña
pueden visitar el sitio de web www.readkiddoread.com o la biblioteca pública para más libros de interés.
El Programa de Lectura del Verano es necesario para todos los estudiantes de la escuela. También puede
encontrar materiales del Programa de Lectura del Verano en el sitio de web de la escuela
(www.ms.portchesterschools.org).
Si tiene preguntas, no dude en ponerse en contacto con nosotros.
Gracias en antemano por su apoyo del Programa de Lectura del Verano.
Sinceramente,
Sr. Patrick Swift
Port Chester Middle School
Summer Reading Book Tally Sheet
Date
Started
Title and Author
Date
Finished
Parent/Guardian
Signature
PCMS Summer Reading Assignment
Complete this sheet by filling in the boxes. Be sure to use textual evidence
(details) from the book to support your responses.
Book Title and Author:
Describe one important event in this book.
Tell why you think this event is
important.
How did this book relate to your personal life, something you read, or something you
saw on TV or in a movie? Explain at least one connection you made with the book.
Did you enjoy this book? Why or why not? Give specific examples from the book of
things you did or did not like.
What was your favorite scene in the book? Draw it here and write a caption (sentence)
underneath the drawing telling what it is.
PCMS Summer Reading Assignment
Complete this sheet by filling in the boxes. Be sure to use textual evidence
(details) from the book to support your responses.
Book Title and Author:
Describe one important event in this book.
Tell why you think this event is
important.
How did this book relate to your personal life, something you read, or something you
saw on TV or in a movie? Explain at least one connection you made with the book.
Did you enjoy this book? Why or why not? Give specific examples from the book of
things you did or did not like.
What was your favorite scene in the book? Draw it here and write a caption (sentence)
underneath the drawing telling what it is.
PCMS Suggested Summer Reading List- Entering 6th Grade
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
940L
C.S. Lewis
A once peaceful world inhabited by Fauns, Dwarves, Giants, and Talking Beasts, Narnia has been frozen into
perpetual winter by the fiendish White Witch who rules over it. Before long, Edmund steps into the wardrobe, and,
in spite of himself, into Narnia, where he has a chilling encounter with the seductive White Witch. Soon, all of the
children become embroiled in an adventure that includes themes of betrayal, forgiveness, death, and rebirth.
Seaward Born
730L
Lea Wait
It's 1805 and thirteen-year old Michael is a slave in South Carolina. He is luckier than most slaves, however,
because his owner rents him out to work on the docks at Charleston Harbor, close to the ocean he dreams of
sailing on. When Michael's owner dies,
The Westing Game
750L
Ellen Raskin
When sixteen people are called together for the reading of wealthy Sam Westing's will, they are surprised to learn
that the will is actually a contest in which they are all to participate. Working with partners, the potential heirs take
their clues to try to find the elusive answer to the Westing game and thus take their shares of the two-hundred-million-dollar
prize.
The Year My Parents Ruined My Life
700L
Martha Freeman
Kate Somers is stunned when her parents announce that their family is moving from sunny California to
Belletoona, Pennsylvania. Kate can't bear leaving her friends, her cool surfer boyfriend, and the beach. But
maybe, just maybe, Belletoona won't be so bad. Forget it. All it ever does is snow in Belletoona -- and Kate's already in
trouble with the principal and half her class. What's worse is her younger sister, who acts like Miss Perfect. Kate's had it.
Nothing will stop her from going back to California where she belongs.
The Misfits
960L
James Howe
Skeezie, Addie, Joe, and Bobby call themselves the Gang of Five. Wonder why? Their name is a welcoming to
any other kid out there who may find him/herself to be a misfit. Together, they want to survive the seventh grade
and the one-word jokes their classmates have tried to reduce them to. By the end of the school year, they have survived,
and also, learned to see themselves as the full, complicated human beings they truly are.
Finding Buck McHenry
500L
Alfred Stole
Jason loves baseball — playing it, watching it, and collecting baseball cards. When he first learns about the
Negro leagues, where African-American players were relegated before Jackie Robinson broke the color
barrier, he starts collecting those cards, too. Then Jason gets cut from his team. If he wants to play, he'll have
to join the new Little League expansion team — the reject team, which doesn't even have a coach yet. Jason's spirits lift
when he realizes he knows the perfect person to coach: Mack Henry, a school custodian who's given Jason some pointers
before. Jason is convinced that Mr. Henry is really Buck McHenry, who was once a star pitcher in the Negro leagues.
Lyddie
860L
Katherine Patterson
After her father abandons the family, ten-year-old Lyddie Worthen's mother hires the young girl out to pay his
debts. This impoverished Vermont farm girl is determined to gain her independence by becoming a factory
worker in Lowell, Massachusetts, in the 1840s.
Frindle
830L
Andrew Clements
Fifth grader Nick Allen knows just how to make school more cool . In third grade, he transformed Miss Deaver's
room into a tropical paradise with some paper palm trees and a sandy beach. In fourth grade, he taught his
classmates to mimic the high-pitched calls of blackbirds. But now, in fifth grade, he's come up with his most ingenious idea
yet. After learning about the origins of words, he decides to change the word pen to frindle . At first, it seems like a harmless
prank, a way to annoy his dictionary-obsessed teacher. Then the whole class starts using the new word, and the joke
spreads across town like wildfire. Suddenly Nick finds himself in the middle of a media frenzy over frindle. Will Nick emerge
from the controversy a troublemaker or a hero?
Babe & Me
600L
Dan Gutman
On October 1, 1932, during Game Three of the Chicago Cubs/New York Yankees World Series, Babe Ruth
belted a long home run to straightaway center field. According to legend, just before he hit, Babe pointed to
the center field bleachers and boldly predicted he would slam the next pitch there. Did he call that shot, or
didn't he? Witnesses never agreed. Joe Stoshack knows there's one way to solve the mystery — slip back seventy years
and see for himself.
Dogsong
930L
Gary Paulsen
In Paulsen's Newbery Honor novel, 14-year-old Russel Susskit leads a dog team on an arduous trek across the
frozen Alaskan wilderness on a life-altering journey haunted by dreams of an ancient warrior whose life oddly
parallels his own.
Night
590L
Elie Weisel
It is 1944. The Jews of Sighet, Hungary are rounded up and driven into Nazi concentration camps. For the next
terrible year, young Elie Wiesel experiences the loss of everything he loves — home, friends, family — in an
agonizing journey through Birkenau, Auschwitz, Buna, and Buchenwald. The greatest tragedy of our time, told
through the eyes of a 15-year old boy.
The Slave Dancer
970L
Paula Fox
Snatched from the docks of New Orleans, 13-year-old Jessie is thrown aboard a slave ship where he is sickened
by the horrible practices of the slave business. But they are nothing compared to the one final horror that Jessie
will witness. Can the cruelty be stopped before it's too late?
The View from Saturday
870L
E. L. Konigsburg
Four students, with their own individual stories, develop a special bond and attract the attention of their
teacher, a paraplegic, who chooses them to represent their sixth-grade class in the Academic Bowl
competition.
Million-Dollar Throw
960L
Mike Lupaca
What would you do with a million dollars, if you were 13? Nate Brodie is nicknamed 'Brady" not only for his arm, but
also because he's the biggest Tom Brady fan. He's even saved up to buy an autographed football. And when he does,
he wins the chance for something he's never dreamed of: to throw a pass through a target at a Patriots game for one
million dollars. Nate should be excited. But things have been tough lately. His dad lost his job and his family is losing their
home. It's no secret that a million dollars would go a long way. So all Nate feels is pressure, and just when he needs it most,
his golden arm begins to fail him.