Notes from the Smith School Library
Trimester Two Newsletter
December 2023 to February 2024
In like a lion...
Trimester two flew by! I cannot believe that it is March and that spring is on the horizon. We've had a lot of fun in the library these last few months; the students have worked very hard and grown in so many ways! The library has had a facelift, with the addition of our new teal accent walls, and we hope to have a new mural sometime in the near future. I have grown to love this school and space and am every day grateful that I get to show up and do the work I do.
If you didn't get a chance to read my introductory Trimester One newsletter, here's a link!
I have included my schedule for library skills and checkout at the end of this newsletter. Please take a moment to check what day(s) your student has library and help them remember to bring back their books on the checkout day.
I frequently hear from families about lost library books. My general response is to continue to look for the books and we can figure out payment at the end of the year. In my experience, the books almost always show up, and it's easier to wait on paying than to deal with refunds. If your student has lost a book, please email me at hmorrison@helenaschools.org so I can mark it lost in the system and we can open communication about the item(s).
Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns. I look forward to meeting many more of you in the months to come!
Hope Morrison
Kindergarten
Our focus this trimester has been research. We learned about the black-footed ferret, our school's Adopt-a-Species, and used information books and online databases to take notes and build our knowledge. The last few weeks, we compared an information book about an animal with a fiction story about the same animal and discussed characteristics of fiction and nonfiction. We are also developing map skills as we identify where in the world the animals live. Ask your students what they have learned about giraffes, sea turtles, bears, and groundhogs!
Kindergartners have library checkout on Mondays. This is a hard day to remember; I really appreciate your support in helping them remember to bring their books back!
First Grade
Our December focus was gingerbread: we read several variations of "The Gingerbread Man," designed digital gingerbread houses, and created gingerbread friends to take home and read to over winter break! In January, we kicked off awards season, spending several weeks talking about the Caldecott Medal then launching into the Montana Treasure State Award. Together we read and discussed the five nominated books then voted for our favorites. This student-choice award gives our young readers an opportunity to reflect on why they love the books they love, what makes a great book, and how illustrations help to tell a story. Be sure to ask your students which book they selected in the MTS election!
Second Grade -- Third Grade -- Third/Fourth -- Lower Montessori
We continued to research the black-footed ferret, our Adopt-a-Species, and the students created some wonderful products with their research, from comics to poetry. The students in these classes have also been working on the award programs details above; we learned about the Caldecott Medal then began reading the five nominated titles for the Montana Treasure State Award. This week is our election; I have included a few photos of our students reviewing and discussing the books and casting their ballots! I'll keep you posted on the state-wide winner later this spring.
Students in 3M and 34J had the added opportunity to write book reviews for the nominees in Beanstack. This continues to be a tremendous resource for supporting and encouraging our readers; we are so grateful to Parents for Smith School for supporting its use! If you aren't using Beanstack at home, ask your student to give you a tour!
Fourth and Fifth and Upper Montessori
December was Makerspace Month in the library; the students in 4R, 5R, 5H, and UMB had lots of great opportunities to create and learn through Makerspace activities! Each week, I had six centers set up with a variety of options -- from high tech to low/no tech -- and students had the opportunity to rotate through the centers. What does Makerspace have to do with the library, you might wonder? Well, it provides our students a space to think critically, to work collaboratively, to problem-solve, and to create original products, all skills that are listed in our state library standards. The students LOVE Makerspace, and I love giving them a chance to try out these skills! We spent several weeks specifically focused on coding using the many coding activities available through Hour of Code. Ask your students about this!
Since winter break, we've been working on research. We spent a week learning about the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. then launched into a super fun trivia unit wherein the students used World Book Online to write trivia questions that I then put into a Jeopardy-themed game. We covered so many skills through this unit, from skimming and scanning to working together to navigating online resources. We spent the next few weeks researching the black-footed ferret; the students will now use their graphic organizers from this research to work on informational writing in their classrooms.
4th and 5th graders continue to read the YRCA books (featured in last trimester's newsletter). At Smith, students who read at last three will get invited to a pizza party in the spring. There are lots of great titles this year; ask your fourth or fifth grader about their favorites!
Smith School Library
MS in Library and Information Science
National Board Certified Teacher
Email: hmorrison@helenaschools.org
Website: https://smith.helenaschools.org/library
Location: 2320 Fifth Avenue, Helena, MT 59601
Phone: 406-324-1527
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SmithSchoolHelena