Weekly Updates

Monday, Monday 4th

What a great season!  Both teams lost tonight, but we could not be more proud of all the hard work they put into this season.  It is quite an accomplishment to make it to semifinals with one team, but Heritage sent two teams to the semifinals this year!!  

The end is always bittersweet!  We had two AMAZING teams this year!  We cannot wait to celebrate with everyone on Friday morning (7:30 a.m.) in the library.  We will celebrate the season with a breakfast fit for kings, an exciting battle royale where battlers will go head to head to see who will be victorious, and then the much anticipated raffle where battlers get to choose among a variety of spoils (aka gift cards).  They won't want to miss it!

Thank you to all of the amazing parents and supporters!  It means so much to the battlers and to the coaches.  Thank you for all the hours of reading, writing questions, encouraging students to fill out their forms, and most importantly waking up early on Fridays to come to practice.    It has been an AWESOME season!  

We can't wait to see everyone back next year!  To my friends graduating this year, it has been a wonderful journey and we are excited for your next adventure.  Middle school has BOTB too!  

If your battler has an allergy, please reach out.  We will be providing Chickfila and Krispy Kreme donuts.  See you Friday!


Tuesday, February 27th

🎉🎉🎉🎉Both teams are advancing to semi-finals!  🎉🎉🎉🎉

Great job to both AMAZING teams!  They will battle it out in semi-finals next week Monday, March 4th! We are so insanely proud of all the students and are so very excited to watch this next round of battles.  Keep up the great work and continue to read.

We WILL have practice this Friday, March 1st @ 7:30 a.m. in the Heritage Library.  See everyone there!

Please note, both teams battle on Monday:  

3rd/4th grade  - Monday, March 4th @ 5 p.m.  Please arrive by 4:45 p.m.

5th/6th grade - Monday, March 4th @ 6 p.m.  Please arrive by 5:45 p.m. 

If you have the chance, please come cheer on the each other this next week.  This will be the first time in the seven years I have coached that BOTH teams have made it to semi-finals!

Please note finals are the next day, Tuesday, March 5th, so in the event we advance we will battle the very next day.

We will see everyone at the DCL library (Highlands Ranch) this week.   Everyone wear your shirts!! 


Sunday, February 25th

Both teams made it to playoffs!  🎉🎉🎉🎉

We have officially entered the playoffs for BOTB!  Great job to both AMAZING teams!  We cannot wait to see them battle this week in the quarterfinals.  In order to move forward in the playoffs, the teams must win.  If they lose at any point in the playoffs, the team is eliminated.  

I will send out an update later this week regarding Friday practice, depending on whether or not we advance in the playoffs.

Please note, 3rd/4th grade battles on Monday this week, February 26th, @ 6 p.m. and 5th/6th battles on Tuesday, February 27th @ 6 p.m.  Please arrive by 5:45 p.m.  on your respective battle day.

We will see everyone at the DCL library (Highlands Ranch) this week.   Everyone wear your shirts!! 


Monday, February 19th

Reminder:  Practice is Tuesday, February 20th @ 7:30 a.m. in the library!  See you there!  

This our last REGULAR season battle.  Depending on how things go during our battles will determine if we battle again in the quarterfinals.  Please be sure to check back for updates on potential new battle dates!  The way things are going there is a GREAT chance at least one, if not both, of the teams will be moving on.  Let's cheer on our teams tomorrow!  Go Heritage Explorers!

We will see everyone at the DCL library (Highlands Ranch) tomorrow, Tuesday, February 20th.  Our 3rd/4th grade team battles at 5:30 p.m., so please show up by 5:15 p.m.  The 5th/6th grade team battles at 6 p.m., so please arrive by 5:45 p.m.   Everyone wear your shirts!! 


Monday, February 12th

Half way there!  Both teams played great again!  We came out with a narrow loss for our 3rd/4th grade team (they've only missed one question in battles) and a victory for our 5th/6th grade team.  We will see everyone at the DCL library (Highlands Ranch) tomorrow, Tuesday, February 13th.  Our 3rd/4th grade team battles at 6:30 p.m., so please show up by 6:15 p.m.  The 5th/6th grade team battles at 7 p.m., so please arrive by 6:45 p.m.   Everyone wear your shirts!! 

No practice this Friday due to no school.  Stay tuned for a possible reschedule!  


Monday, February 5th

What a great first battle!  Both teams did so well!  We came out with one win by our 3rd/4th grade team (they got all of their questions correct!) and a narrow loss by our 5th/6th grade team.  We will see everyone at the DCL library (Highlands Ranch) tomorrow, Tuesday, February 6th.  Our 3rd/4th grade team battles at 6:30 p.m., so please show up by 6:15 p.m.  The 5th/6th grade team battles at 7 p.m., so please arrive by 6:45 p.m.   Everyone wear your shirts!! 

Reminder:  3rd/4th grade meet Ms. Joy and I in the children's section.  5th/6th grade come up the stairs and sit quietly in the back, so you can cheer on the 3rd/4th grade team!  We will pass out shirts right after their battle wraps up and then head back downstairs to get ready for your battle.   Parents, once your kiddo(s) are dropped off with the coaches, you can proceed upstairs to score a sit for the battle!

For the battle line up, check out this link.  If you are running behind, please be sure to text both myself (720-300-2298) and Ms. Joy (760-450-8745) to let us know. 

See everyone tomorrow!!  Go Heritage Explorers!


Monday, January 29th

Battle Day is almost upon us!  We will see everyone at the DCL library (Highlands Ranch) tomorrow, Tuesday, January 30th.  Our 3rd/4th grade team battles at 5:30 p.m., so please show up by 5:15 p.m.  The 5th/6th grade team battles at 6 p.m., so please arrive by 5:45 p.m.  

3rd/4th grade meet Ms. Joy and I in the children's section.  We will be passing out shirts and we will go over strategy before we walk up the stairs together into the room just a few minutes prior to the battle.  Parents, once your kiddo(s) are dropped off with the coaches, you can proceed upstairs to score a sit for the battle!

5th/6th grade come up the stairs and sit quietly in the back, so you can cheer on the 3rd/4th grade team!  We will pass out shirts right after their battle wraps up and then head back downstairs to get ready for your battle.  

For the battle line up, check out this link.  If you are running behind, please be sure to text both myself (720-300-2298) and Ms. Joy (760-450-8745) to let us know. 

See everyone tomorrow!!  Yay!


Monday, January 22nd

One more practice and then we will have our first battle (check out the battle schedule here)!  All regular season battles are held at our local DCL library (Highlands Ranch).

Please be sure your battler(s) arrives 15 minutes early.  Third/fourth (3rd/4th) graders, please meet Ms. Joy and I in the children's section 15 minutes prior to your battle.  Fifth/sixth graders, please arrive 15 minutes early and quietly come upstairs to support the 3rd/4th graders.  After they finish their battle, we will head downstairs to the children's section to get geared up for your battle.  

More practice sets are up and ready to go.  Please have your battlers practice each week, read books, and write questions.  See you this Friday, January 26th for practice and Tuesday, January 30th for our first battle!!  Go Heritage Explorers!


Monday, January 1st

Happy New Year!!  I hope battlers are reading, reading, reading over the break!  There are four new practice sets up for each team.  Please encourage battlers to complete these practice sets as we get closer to battles later this month.


Monday, December 18th

It has been an EXCITING week for BOTB!

We need your help!  Please fill out this form for t-shirt sizes.  Battlers told us shirt sizes on Friday, but would love to get parent's thoughts too.  Please complete this by EOD tomorrow, December 19th so I can submit them to the library.  If we don't hear back, we will default to medium for 3rd/4th graders and large for 5th/6th graders.

Remember, in between practices and while on break, all battlers should be working on the following four things each week:


Monday, December 11th

Last week, our 5th/6th grade team battled each other!  They did a great job and were able to work on important strategies that they will be using in the battles at the library!  As many 5th/6th graders are very close to finishing all 10 books, we will be picking expert books this week. 

Every battler will be an expert on at least two books.  This means that when they finish reading all 10 books, they are going to go back and reread their expert books first to make sure that when in the huddle, they can provide expert advice on their books.  Often questions come down to book pairs (i.e. Last Shadow Warrior is similar to The Marvellers).  When students are trying to decide between two books, the experts are critical in helping make those tough decisions.

Our 3rd/4th grade team is working really well together!  They are super excited and come ready to practice each Friday!  Let's read, read, read over the break!  Once we get back in the New Year, we will pick experts for books and begin our mock battles.

There will be no tests prior to the New Year.  The next two weeks we are just focusing on getting through as many questions as possible to prepare for the battles.

Below is a reminder of the four (4) items that have to be checked off each week BEFORE practice:

See everyone on Friday, December 15th @ 7:30 a.m. in the library for another great practice!


Monday, December 4th

Congrats to our first finishers of ALL 10 books (one from each team)!!  So proud of you!  Keep up the great work and keep reading!  Don't forget there are four (4) items that have to be checked off each week BEFORE practice:

See everyone on Friday, December 8th @ 7:30 a.m. in the library for another great practice!


Monday, November 13th

What a great week last week!  We worked on questions and learning author and title pronunciations.  Students can review this on their own via the Douglas County Library websites or using the link on our Resource Page.

Practice is on Friday, November 17th @ 7:30 a.m.

Just a reminder, the following three steps must be complete prior to practice on Friday.  The fourth step is coming soon!


Monday, November 6th

We had an amazing turnout on Thursday!  Six new friends joined our 3rd-4th grade team!  Currently we are at seven (7) 3rd-4th graders and eight (8) 5th-6th graders.  As such, there will be NO prequalifying test in November.  We will have a test in December still.

We want to wish our 6th grade team members, "Happy Outdoor Ed Week!"  You are going to have SO much fun.  We can't wait to hear about all your adventures.

As a reminder, practice is again on Thursday of this week (11/9 @ 7:30 a.m.).  Starting next week (11/17), we will be back to Fridays @ 7:30 a.m.

Parents and guardians:  The books that are chosen for this competition can stretch readers outside of their comfort zones (sometimes ours too!).  Please be aware of what your student(s) are reading.  There are words, themes, and social situations that may be uncomfortable and hard for some readers.  We encourage students to constantly communicate with you and to let you know if they come across something that they may struggle processing.  In my seven years of coaching, I have had at least one book every season, that I read or "edit" for my kiddo(s).  We have a coaches log available for parents and guardians ONLY that Coach Joy and I are happy to share.  The log is not exhaustive by any means, but things that caught our attention as we are reading through this year's books.  If you would like access to this log, please email us and include the email address we should share it with. 

During practice we went over the three things that need to be completed prior to each practice.  Below is the list, with a coming soon fourth item.  Please remind battlers to complete these steps by Wednesday night.


Monday, October 30th -

We had a great first practice last week!  We got a chance to get to know each other and explore our BOTB webpage!  Now it's time to get to work!  Please encourage your student(s) to read, read, read.


IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS 

BOTB Practice will be on Thursdays the following two weeks (11/2) and (11/9) at 7:30 a.m.  We realize our 6th grade friends will be having fun at Outdoor Ed on 11/8 - 11/10 and we hope you have an amazing time!  We will see you when you get back!

As neither team has 10 players, we will NOT be having the prequalifying test in November.

Please help recruit some 3rd/4th grade friends!

We are super excited to see everyone this Thursday.  We are going to jump right in and start working on preparing for our battles.  Thanks for all of the support!

Thursday, October 26th-->Reminder, our first Battle of the Books meeting is tomorrow, Friday, October 27th in the Heritage Library!  See you soon!


Tuesday, September 28th - Thank you to all of the parents that came out tonight for the informational meeting!  As promised, here is the link to the Detailed Meeting Agenda.  A few key items to keep in mind:

Please reach out with questions!

Battle of the Books is back!  Check out the lists and start reading now!