BSMS Library News
October 2015
Statistics at a Glance
The library saw 5701 students during the month of October, average of 272 per day. It was a spooooktacular month. The last time we saw a number that high was October of 2012. Circulation, 2444 items, is also the highest it’s been for a few years. The library was rockin’ in October!
Plagairism Practice
Room on the Broom
Prepare to be Amazed
Library Comings and Going Ons
ELA Lab- Worked on proper paraphrasing and parenthetical documentation.
Mascardi teaching- Mrs. Mascardi taught 18 whole class lessons. Keep in mind that is where she gave direct instruction to 18 classes in ONE MONTH! We only had 21 school days. During these direct instruction times, Mrs. Mascardi was not available to sign out books or watch the front desk. During these teaching times, students coming from classes and study hall did not receive additional support while they worked. Unfortunately, we needed to turn away many clusters of students and say no to about 10 teachers this month due to library staffing. The library needs another TA, even if it’s a part-time TA.
Research projects Health classes finished research in both 7th and 8th grades. Spanish classes came in to research a person of Spanish descent. With this being a 7th grade class, it was helpful to have them build on their skills from last year’s ELA Lab classes. Students needed to validate websites by using RADCAB before they could take information from that source.
Bernd’s Classes
New this year, we are trying to collaborate more and have her class in the library. Each month is a different theme and I am reading a book and we have a follow up activity. It’s been wonderful to work with these students and I look forward to when we can schedule the next class.
Documentation
Documentation
New Bulletin Board
Interruption to Instruction
Interruption to instruction- When presented with the new rule that students can no longer use their ID number as a password, I quickly brainstormed other passwords that would be meaningful and easy to remember. The best solution would be their new 4 digit lunch number. Unfortunately, I was told it cannot be that number. The only other password that would work is the alternative password because it needs to be a password that will be the same and easy to remember for the next 7 years. For the past few years, we have used the same password from elementary through high school. This allowed seamless transitions between buildings and no interruption to instruction. If we could use the lunch number at all levels, that would be perfect and solve a lot of problems!
I have met with almost all 6th graders and passwords have been changed. Having the password changed to their alternative password is an interruption to instruction. During each class, 15 min. was lost because students needed to log into SchoolTools to retrieve their password. For some classes this took longer because students had forgotten their computer password or had trouble logging into SchoolTools. This happened in 19 different classes which add up to a lot of time looking for a password. The steps and instruction time lost is going to happen EACH time they try to log into NoodleTools or OverDrive. NoodleTools is a program that helps to create ethical users of information, yet, this road block only discourages students from using it on their own. Each time students need to log into NoodleTools or OverDrive, they will first need to go to SchoolTools to retrieve their password. A student that can reach a program 2 clicks away will use it more often than if it requires more clicks to get to that program. By going though SchoolTools, 4 more clicks are being added to this process. Students wanting to use OverDrive are telling me that it’s too much work. Some students only read for pleasure on eReaders while other students need to listen to a book to develop understanding. I feel like we are making it difficult and taking away two very educational programs from students that enhance their education.
Another problem arises when 7th and 8th graders need to switch their NoodleTools passwords. I have only completed this with one teacher; however, it took 45 minutes per class. This will be 45 minutes for every 7th and 8th grade class. Teachers are not fond of time used for tasks that are not part of the curriculum. When curriculum is tight and time is of the essence, having them give up 45 minutes is a lot to ask. Having students and teachers give up 15-20 minutes each time research occurs is also a lot to ask as the year progresses.
If it’s possible to use lunch numbers, none of this would be a problem. Loss of instruction time would be something of the past because so many students have that number memorized. There would be no need to change it in the future or when students come to 6th grade. We would just update their profiles in 6th grade and instruction is carried out as the lesson progresses.