GCS School Library Media News
November 2016
It's Book Fair Time!!!
The Hawks Nest STEAM Academy community is visiting the media center to not only shop at the bookfair, but also to see the 1st Grade Storybook Pumpkin Patch. Can’t make it in person? You can see our Pumpkin Patch via video http://bit.ly/2fay8q7
At JB Page Primary School, students had a wonderful time at the Book Fair! For many students, it was their very first book fair making it this even more exciting. Our students had a wonderful parade to kick the week off. Students and staff at Page Primary would like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season.
Submissions by Edie Crook, SLMC Hawks Nest STEAM Academy; Beverly Cook, SLMC JB Page Primary; & Terri Philbeck, SLMC John Chavis Middle
Student Broadcasting Team Have Much to Be Thankful For
Submission by Linda Cathcart, SLMC Belmont Middle
Sadler Elementary Happenings
The Power of Being a Connected Educator!
WE just returned from NCSLMA's annual conference in Winston-Salem. The theme of the conference this year was "School Library Renaissance - A Cultural Rebirth". It was one of those "mountain top" experiences where we were surrounded by like-minded, forward thinking media specialists who were sharing ideas and the energy was contagious. Here are a few highlights:
- ESSA - Every Student Succeeds Act...Wow! We knew about it, and knew that ALA.org, AASL and many others were involved, but this session was eye-opening. To say the least, it was a call to action! So - if you care about school libraries...get involved! If you are reading this and are in North Carolina, visit the DPI website and leave your comments on the "Let's Talk" forum and do your part to share your library's story!
- The sessions were great! From meeting authors, discovering new books and experiencing virtual field trips, the weekend was such a great time to recharge. Edie and I presented a session on what is near and dear to our hearts - being connected teacher librarians and connecting our students with others digitally! The power of a PLN on Twitter, and social media in general, was a central focus of our session as we shared how we have connected with other teacher librarians, authors and educators, to impact student learning. We are here to collaborate and share ideas, so if you ever want to Mystery Skype, join us via Google Hangouts, or if you need a high school student to be a reading mentor to your student(s), please contact me or Edie.
- The highlight of the weekend for us was having Stony Evans, librarian extraordinaire from Arkansas, join our session live, via Skype, to share his experiences as a connected educator through the lens of his high school library. Stony is the library media specialist at Lakeside High School in Hot Springs, AK. He shared his insight, his successes and how his PLN and Twitter has impacted his instructional practice and how being a connected educator is making a difference for his students. He writes a great blog, Library Media Tech Talk and he can be found on Twitter @stony12270.
- So now what? Now that we are back at our schools- how can we apply what was shared at the conference? Well, this newsletter is one way to reach out and share within our greater library PLC community. Highland’s library was full of students first thing Monday morning, starting the week off great. Laura introduced a "News Station" and a charging station for students to use. Both things are small, but certainly geared to students and their access to information.
Now, for the bigger things...Laura is collaborating more with teachers this week! 11th Grade English students will be in the library soon “breaking out” of a sticky situation to save the Declaration of Independence using primary sources, authentic writing opportunities and using Verso for student discussions as they analyze text and much more! Rumor has it the Shakespeare is all the rage and the library may transform into the Globe Theater soon. Laura will blog about that in the near distant future.
As for ESSA - Laura has been sharing the Highland library’s story this month with whoever will listen. We encourage you to get involved, share YOUR library's story and let's make sure that our stakeholders know about the great things happening in our school libraries.
Submission by Laura Long, SLMC Highland School of Technology
Student Leaders at East Gaston
Submission by Shay Whitlow, SLMC East Gaston High
We Are Future Ready
Library media specialists are dedicated professionals poised to lead the digital transformation of learning and align necessary technologies with instructional goals to support teaching and learning.
Learn more about Future Ready here.
Global Read Aloud
Kindergarten, first grade, and second grade students are participating in the author study of Lauren Castillo. Thanks to Nicole Pollard at Sadler Elementary and Julie Shatterly at WA Bess for sharing books with us.
Fifth graders are also participating in the GRA and are anxious to return to the pages of Pax by Sara Pennypacker after our bookfair.
Remember: “Just because it isn’t happening here doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.” Pax epigraph.
Global Monster Project
First and third graders participated in our 1st Global Monster Project, recently featured on the National Geographic Education Blog. Students connected with and learned about others around the world.
Take it from @TheTechRabbi ...
Each month during our Creation Lab, as a GCS Pinnacle Leader I share ideas on seamless technology integration with the HNSA staff. Curious about App Smashing? Learn more here.
Don’t Forget! November is Picture Book Month! You can show your participation and support by adding a Twibbon to your Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Get Connected
Are you looking for a way to connect with others around the globe? Consider the "Global Digital Scrapbook Project”. Follow @misskyritsis and learn more about the project here: http://bit.ly/dsproject
Maybe you’re looking for a way to connect locally. If so, consider Fight Hunger With Crenshaw. Students that attended summer school met Crenshaw, Jackson and his family. Crenshaw is imaginary. Childhood hunger isn’t. Details here.
Submission by Edie Crook, SLMC Hawks Nest STEAM Academy
Election Time at Pleasant Ridge Elementary
Third, fourth, and fifth grade students at Pleasant Ridge learned about the way elections work by playing Cast Your Vote. They were presented with fictional candidates who debated real issues. The students had to choose what questions to ask the candidates and which candidates they most agreed with on each topic. At the end of the debate they voted for the candidate they liked the best. The game resets each time you play by giving the candidates different viewpoints on the topics, so we couldn't compare between classes, but it was exciting for each class to vote for a candidate. One fourth grade class learned the importance of one vote when someone chose not to vote and their election came up tied!
Because the candidates weren't named in the game, each class picked a name for them to make it less confusing to talk about. Some were funny, and some were based on real life.
Students prepare their secret ballot with their choice of candidate
A closer look at the candidates.
Submission by Kelly Walker, SLMC Pleasant Ridge Elementary