JES Library Connection
Book Fair, Hour of Code Sign Up, Library App & More!
Book Fair - November 30-December 4
The fair will be open every day from 8am-3:30 pm, with special family hours on Wednesday, December 2 from 3:00-7:00. Students are encouraged to shop with their class or their family after school.
This would be a great time to stock up on books for kids to read on Winter Break and support our Johnson Library. In the past we have been able to use money we've raised at the book fair for our PebbleGo database subscriptions, makerspace materials and programming such as One Book, One School. This year we will be looking to add things like ebooks and makerspace materials like robots and Littlebits.
We would appreciate your support! Joseph-Beth always does an amazing job of bringing high quality bargain books in addition to the popular fiction and nonfiction that kids love. See a preview of what you'll find at the fair below.
One Book, One School: The One and Only Ivan
Students may choose to do some optional activities during our month long exploration of the story that could either get them a shout out on the morning announcement, or they can win a copy of the book. If your kids are "bored" and looking for something to do until the first week of December, encourage them to complete some of the optional activities, which can be found on the 1 Book, 1 School web page.
To learn more about the book and program, check out the video below.
Protecting our Kids Online
In general, there are Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship that are often considered: Digital Access, Digital Commerce, Digital Communication, Digital Literacy, Digital Etiquette, Digital Law, Digital Rights and Responsibilities, Digital Health and Wellness, and Digital Security.
Students in K-5 learned about different topics related to being safe online and our 3 & 5th graders are currently working on developing projects that will help educate others about the importance of using technology responsibly.
Some lessons we are really highlighting include: not sharing private information online, telling a trusted adult about where they are going online and what they are doing, and dealing with cyberbullies and even cyber criminals in an appropriate way. We focus quite a bit on characteristics of a model digital citizen - here is a tool that may help you talk about things with your kids, especially as we have some of our younger students using email here at school.
As parents and teachers it's important to protect our kids. Consider some of the advice from iKeepSafe.org about protecting your child from identity thieves. They recommend that parents: avoid sharing birthdays, names and hospitals where your children are born; protect birth certificates and social security numbers, monitor what is shared about your child online, keep your anti-virus software up to date and files protected; check to see if there is a credit report for your child - if a credit report exists for your child (which it should not), freeze it.
Consider also these tips for your use of social media when it comes to sharing about your children:
- Check your Instagram, Facebook and Twitter privacy settings and friends list and make sure you are only sharing information about your kids with people you know face to face
- Consider using "nicknames" for your children that you use only online, instead of their real names, so they are not easily identifiable to people who are strangers to them
- Avoid posting photos of your children until after you leave a location
- Ask other parents before you post photos of their children
- Before you post ask yourself if your child would be embarrassed to see the post years from now
- Avoid posting pictures of your children in gear that would easily identify their team or school - unless you are sharing with a limited crowd of people you know face-to-face
- Take care in choosing your profile picture on social media - our profile pictures are public and remain visible in searches even after you change them, unless you act to remove them from the public view. On Facebook, you can do that by going to your albums >> choose the Profile Pictures album>> edit your sharing settings for the individual photos by clicking the world icon and changing it to friends or "only me". On a mobile device, when the photo is open click the (...) at the top of the screen >> edit privacy >> then select the appropriate group to share with.
The more you share about your children, the more you are potentially giving information that a stranger or criminal could use to piece together about them. Just think about how many times you have to use the security question of "Where were you born" or "What is your mother's maiden name" in the future our kids won't be able to use those questions as a security check.
Our students are naturally curious about social media and using things like Instagram, Snapchat and even Facebook. These sites do require that people be at least 13 years and older before they have their own accounts because of COPPA - Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule in short, under this rule, companies that operate websites must not share the private information of children with 3rd parties. If a website/social media site says in their privacy party that a person must be 13 years or older to sign up, they are essentially telling users that they are collecting their private information and possibly sharing it with 3rd parties. For this reason it's pretty important to read the privacy statements so that you understand what information about you and/or your child is being shared and to what extent.
Johnson Hour of Code
Currently we have 75 spots available, with the possibility of opening up for more if there is interest. We will be using programs on Code.org, Made with Code, Tynker, Scratch and iPad apps like Kodable, Daisy the Dino and Hopscotch.
If as a parent you would like to volunteer to help out, please fill out the form [here] and I will be in touch soon.
To register your student(s) for the Hour of Code, click on the link below.
Save our Library App to your Device
Get quick access to JES Destiny, our library catalog page that includes student appropriate links; Events so you can register your students for things like Minecraft and after school maker events, YouTube channel of unlisted student videos, as well as social media.
Access the app by going to http//h.theapp.mobi/jeslibrary or scan the QR code using a QR code reader. Learn how to save the link to your home screen [here].
40 Book Challenge Update
Students set their own personal reading goals at the beginning of the year and we're tracking progress for them to reach their personal reading goal and the 40 book goal. To date, students have reported having read almost 15,000 books!
Drop your Drawers with the Campbell County Public Library
If you would like to make a donation, you can drop some off to the library here, and I can deliver them to the Fort Thomas or Newport branch.
Find out more information at the link below.
Johnson Library
If you have questions or comments please email me at the address below.
Email: heidi.neltner@fortthomas.kyschools.us
Website: http://www.fortthomas.kyschools.us/olc/class.aspx?id=41467&s=460
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JohnsonElementaryLMC.
Twitter: @JESFTLibrary