Media in Minutes...
Reflections on our 1st semester
What Went Well vs. Not so Great
I knew making the move back to high school would be tough. New faces, new procedures, a new collection, new curriculum, new equipment, new responsibilities...the list felt endless. Which is why that first month I started a spreadsheet with 2 columns: What went well today and Not so great. It sounds a little nutty but it was helpful especially when the "what went well today" side of the spreadsheet began to outweigh the other side. It was then I found my rhythm and I have looked forward to each new day at Robinson. With that thought in mind...
What went well today: As I am typing this newsletter, I am watching students as they sign in during lunch. We started off averaging 17 students during all 4 lunches and now our numbers exceed 50! Having staff members outside the Media Center monitoring movement during lunch has allowed our students to sign in, work, and go back to lunch. So thank you for helping us better meet the needs of our students. Also, at this same time Ms. Yates is leading staff development in the Fiction section, a class is utilizing the computers, all the seats in the middle of the Media Center are full of students just hanging out and there are 20+ students in the Reference section either working on research, reading magazines, or talking with friends. That's what makes me happy!
Now for the not so great: It's a fine line maintaining a balance between being welcoming and being a welcome mat. My philosophy when dealing with kids, my own included, is this: you have as much freedom as you can handle. Today we dealt with a few students who came to the Media Center without a pass but it was okay because (and I quote) "my teacher knows where I am." Surprise, surprise - no they didn't. Many of you are great about sending students with passes and some of you aren't. Some days I'm really good about asking for passes and some days I'm not. Today I got it. No pass, no stay. No exceptions.
What went well today: As I am typing this newsletter, I am watching students as they sign in during lunch. We started off averaging 17 students during all 4 lunches and now our numbers exceed 50! Having staff members outside the Media Center monitoring movement during lunch has allowed our students to sign in, work, and go back to lunch. So thank you for helping us better meet the needs of our students. Also, at this same time Ms. Yates is leading staff development in the Fiction section, a class is utilizing the computers, all the seats in the middle of the Media Center are full of students just hanging out and there are 20+ students in the Reference section either working on research, reading magazines, or talking with friends. That's what makes me happy!
Now for the not so great: It's a fine line maintaining a balance between being welcoming and being a welcome mat. My philosophy when dealing with kids, my own included, is this: you have as much freedom as you can handle. Today we dealt with a few students who came to the Media Center without a pass but it was okay because (and I quote) "my teacher knows where I am." Surprise, surprise - no they didn't. Many of you are great about sending students with passes and some of you aren't. Some days I'm really good about asking for passes and some days I'm not. Today I got it. No pass, no stay. No exceptions.
Media Center Holiday Pics
Bookin' It for the Holidays
Stop by and enjoy the fire with "Festive Caesar"
The Gift of Reading Lasts Forever
Checkout the hallway display case!
Give a kid a dry eraser marker and they'll need a board to go with it!
Students are always willing to share thoughts on the white board in the Media Center. So far the inappropriate comments have been minimal :)
We Heard You!
Notice anything new?
After almost a full semester of watching students struggle with finding "their class number" on the Media Center computers we've changed it up a bit. Numbers start along the Smartboard wall and end up outside my office. With 34 computers, it is my hope a few of them will be available through lunches even with a full class. Also, this should keep your class together and any "extra" students on the end of the computer section. Thanks to Mrs. Cook and our student Media Assistants, Sara Noll and Deneisha Hendricks, for making this happen!