One for the Record Books
September 2016
BYOL Bring Your Own Lunch Renaissance Training @ Hinojosa
Hinojosa Librarian Elizabeth Moreno provided an optional (BYOL bring your own lunch) AR training/overview for teachers during lunch periods. She had nineteen teachers attend. She showed the teachers how to access the new reports and especially the ones that tie into instructional planning and show progress/trajectory towards STAAR test. Teachers commented that these reports will be very useful when planning interventions and especially when communicating with parents.
Technology Connections @ Wernecke Library
Students at Wernecke Elementary enjoyed spending time focusing on reading books digitally for Power Up at Your Library Day. The librarian, Patricia Ramos, encouraged them to take advantage of other resources that are available via technology to read books. They used the MyOn website to read e-books, and also read books that were available on Kindle Fires at the library.
Local Librarian Recognized in State X-Press Newsletter
BL Gray Librarian Earns SHSU Scholarship
Testing & Education Reference Center Webinar with PHS Administrators & AP Teachers
PHS Counselors and AP Teachers were invited to the Testing & Education Reference Center webinar offered by Region One. Afterward, the counselors and librarian discussed ways in which students could use the resource consistently to help improve test scores.
Britannica Image Quest Shared with Photo Caption Contest @ SHS
Window Book Designs Promote Reading and Safe School Environment @ John H. Shary
Shimotsu Read Blue Club
O. Garza Celebrates Banned Books Week
O. Garza students will be celebrating Banned Books Week the week of September 26th-September 30th. Students will learn about books who have been banned or challenged recently and in the past, and discuss their thoughts on banning books. Students, and even parents, have already asked about the books displayed, and why someone would want to ban them. Banned Books Week has prompted many informal discussions on reading and the right to choose what you want to read.
Family Reading Night @ Martinez Elementary
Ruben Hinojosa Elementary Leadership Academy
Technology Training @ SNJH
September 15, 2016 was designated by Texas Governor Greg Abbott as “Power Up at Your Library Day”; a day for Libraries to promote technology, innovation, and creativity. At North Mr. Quintero took his 8th grade History class to the Library lab where student Caleb Masso, with the help of the Librarian, Mr. Koenig, taught the students how to share MS PowerPoints through their District issued e-mail accounts. The students then completed their group assignments and e-mailed them to their teacher.
Shimotsu Power Up
Power Up At David O. Garcia Memorial Library
PHS Sophomore student Maewally Padron competed in the Power Up at Your Library! Caption Contest held on September 15, 2016.
Her caption, “If you can’t fly, just walk and smile!” was one of five winners who beat out over 80 entries submitted to the library!
BL Gray Junior High Powers Up
Mrs. Pray invited all faculty and staff to de-stress in the B. L. Gray library for Power Up Your Library Day. Adults on campus colored in a calm, relaxing environment while they enjoyed some coffee lounge music. Students were invited to create comic strips using MakeBeliefComix.com after school. Seventh grade ELA teachers and Custodian Ester Cisneros are pictured here.
Power Up At John H Shary with QR Codes
Relax and Have Fun @ the SHS/ SA3 Library
Rapid Review by Darvin Koenig, SNJH Librarian
Ship Breaker
A futuristic tale set in the Gulf Coast region about a teenage boy, Nailer, who knows only scavenging grounded Oil Tankers for copper wire. It is a bleak outlook for Nailer and the members of his crew; no school, no fun, no games. Just work day in and day out; concerned only with surviving another day. Until one day after a hurricane blows through Nailer and his best friend Pima come across a clipper ship full of enough valuables to buy their way out of their current social position. The situation soon gets complicated; however, when they find a lone survivor, a beautiful and wealthy girl. Pima wants to kill her, but Nailer, having recently had a near death experience, decides they need to spare her life. Through Nailer the reader will wrestle with important issues such as poverty, stereotyping, and what makes a family.
Power UP At RD Martinez Library
Book Bites by Samantha Silva
Title: Ghosts
Author: Raina Telgemeier
Published: September 2016
Type: Graphic Novel
Grade Levels: 4t – 8th
Review: Catarina and her little sister Maya are moving to the coast of Northern California. Maya was born with cystic fibrosis, a genetic lung disease that makes it very hard for Maya to breathe. Cat’s family hopes that by moving to Bahía de la Luna Maya will benefit from the cool salty air. When Cat and Maya meet their neighbor Carlos they are introduced to the many haunted areas of Bahía de la Luna. Cat is skeptical, but Maya is a fast believer. When Maya does meet the ghosts they are so drawn to her that she becomes sick and hospitalized. Maya isn’t scared, but Cat fears for her sister’s life. Día de los Muertos is approaching, and with it ghosts are making themselves known. Cat realizes that she must conquer her fears in order to protect her sister. Even if she isn’t quite sure how.
Raina’s beautiful drawing style presented in full color brings to life the gorgeous colors of fall and the culture behind Día de los Muertos. Ghosts differentiates itself from Telgemeier’s previous, more comical, work as Cat deals with the fact that her little sister will never get better. Readers will find a strength in the book through her younger sister Maya. Although Maya is sick, she is strong and fearless in her ultimate goal of having a “normal” life. Telgemeier’s storytelling and art manages to deliver the story with a lighthearted feel that allows younger readers to really enjoy and connect to both characters.
SISD Lead Librarian Nicole H. Cruz
Email: ncruz@sharylandisd.org
Website: http://sharyland.ss8.sharpschool.com/departments/library_services
Location: 1216 North Shary Road, Mission, TX, United States
Phone: 956-580-5300
Twitter: @Cruz23Mac